Category: Constitutionalism

The Unholy Grail

     According to the Wall Street Journal:      WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump picked Tesla CEO Elon Musk and biotech company founder Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, to lead an effort to cut spending, eliminate regulations and restructure federal agencies.      Trump said in a statement Tuesday night that Ramaswamy and Musk—the wealthiest person in …

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A Day Without News

     Do you know what day of the year – well, of the years, actually – is most frustrating to a public-affairs commentator? Election Day. ***      The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the …

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“Water Through The Locks”

     Time was, the sentiment of the American people was firmly against allowing government – at any level – to engage in “public works.” That’s not the same as “public property,” of course. Public works, while they may result in the acquisition or creation of public property, are nominally intended for the improvement of some …

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Localism And The Establishment

     Among the things the late Clarence Carson deplored in his masterwork The American Tradition was the erosion of our traditional localism as the federal government has expanded into ever more areas of American life. Garet Garrett expressed a consistent view in The People’s Pottage. He quotes a governor of Kansas to this effect:      …

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When You Can’t Win Fair And Square

     …demand a rule change:      Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the Electoral College “needs to go,” while acknowledging “that’s not the world we live in,” during a campaign fundraiser in California on Tuesday, according to a pool report.      “I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go. We need, we …

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A Good Start

     Vivek Ramaswamy appears to have his head on straight:      I definitely like this guy. But how about denying Congress the power to legislate on anything not mentioned explicitly in Article I, Section 8 and not forbidden by the rest of the Constitution? The regulatory agencies didn’t grow like cancers all by themselves. Unless …

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Why Is This Better?

     I missed this:      WASHINGTON — Working to salvage an aid package to Ukraine, Republican senators pitched an idea to former President Donald Trump that they thought he’d like: Instead of a grant, the U.S. would give the country a loan that would be backed in some fashion by Ukrainian rare earth minerals worth …

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“Unburdened By What Has Been”

     It’s hard not to be impressed by the Left’s ability to cohere around a single, simple message. It speaks to the efficacy of its internal communications and its ability to impose discipline on its public voices. It doesn’t matter at all whether the message is true; what matters is that it’s concise, punchy, and …

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The Falling Of The Scales

     This one isn’t for the regular Gentle Readers of Liberty’s Torch. It’s for the new visitors, the drop-ins who were recently guided here by a link or arrived by surprise, and are wondering what’s beneath our sarcastic-but-serious “schtick.” One such visitor just wrote to me thus: “I like what I’ve read so far, but …

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Have The Rules Changed Or Haven’t They?

     Back when certain Y-chromosome bearers decided it was time to take the thirteen colonies-become-states and make them into a nation – a decision some think they regretted afterward – they had certain rules in mind about governments and how they were supposed to be formed. The most important of those rules was no violence. …

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What Is Caesar’s And What Is Mine?

     Pro-freedom journalist John Stossel has a plaintive piece up today about that special feature of this time of year. After all, it’s the season when a young man’s fancy turns to what his wife, fiancée, or Significant Other never stops thinking about: what’s in his wallet – and I don’t mean his Capital One …

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The Case That May Upend The Regulatory Applecart

     About forty years ago, the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the most odious organizations in the enviro-Nazi coalition, received a huge gift from the Supreme Court. However, the case that granted that gift awarded an even bigger gift to the regulatory bureaucracies. That gift has since become known as Chevron deference: the requirement …

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Shoot Down This Trial Balloon Fast

This headline, House chaos forces Senate to take the wheel on spending , suggests further defacto trampling of our constitution. All spending bills are to start in the House of Representatives. Calling the failure to keep the Continuing Resolution afloat a crisis is just one more assault on our freedom. Forces the Senate to violate …

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Adding on to Mr. Porretto’s post below

Joe Mannix at Ace of Spades is pleasantly surprised. So it is not surprising that McCarthy failed to uphold his agreement. The only surprising thing is that he was punished for it. Whatever comes next – and it probably won’t be some meaningful improvement – this action stands as one of the extremely rare examples …

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Sovereign Immunity

     [The following piece first appeared at Liberty’s Torch V1.0 on June 14, 2016. And before you ask: No, I haven’t been to the kzinti homeworld since then. – FWP]      Some years ago, a friend of mine who sought to pursue an action against his township for mistakenly demolishing his house was told, in …

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Where The Power Is

     Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves. – William Pitt      Who can protest and does not, is an accomplice in the act. – The Talmud      One of the most illuminating bits of the Game of Thrones series …

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Domains

     I recall being introduced to the concept of a domain in a mathematical context. A function, our algebra teacher told us, has a domain of values for its independent or X variable, and a range of dependent or Y values it produces from that domain. In that formulation, a function is a sort of …

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Problems And Solutions

     The news is the same as yesterday. The corruptocrats are all spouting the same self-serving bilge, while the media dutifully pretend otherwise. So let’s talk about something else this morning.      I can’t remember the first time I heard a politician prattle about some “problem.” I’m sure the practice is a lot older than …

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Freedom Of What?

     I have a great admiration for the Founders of this nation. Many of them thought more deeply about political processes, especially the innate dynamic of governments to grow over time, than anyone who’s come since them. This morning I find myself reflecting on the wisdom of one in particular: the celebrated yet underappreciated Alexander …

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Qualifications For The Federal Bench

     …don’t include intimate familiarity with the Supreme Law of the Land: Q: “Judge, tell me what article V of the Constitution does?” Biden judicial nominee: “Article V is not coming to mind at the moment.” “How about article II?” Nominee: “Neither is Article II” pic.twitter.com/MvdLR3TDKZ — Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 26, 2023      …

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