Memorial Day

What they died for.

Liberty.

The soul's right to breathe.

The right to be left alone.

The right to be equal under the eyes of our laws.

The right to privacy, and control of one's body.

Bill of Rights

Article 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Article II


A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Article III


No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Article IV

Justice Louis D. Brandeis

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Article V


No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.

Article VI


In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Article VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Article VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813 – 1887)

Article IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Article X

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.

Feingold: Halted FISA 4th Amendment Killer for Now, Next Week the Fight Goes on

“I teased some of my colleagues. I said, ‘We can celebrate the Constitution on July 4th, and maybe when you come back, you'll decide not to tear it up’"
- Senator Russ Feingold, from his backyard in Middleton, Wisconsin

First Amendment Rules, Baby

Torie Bosch at Slate loves to dive into the inane.

Though the writer likely did not intend to display her ignorance of the Constitution.

A First Amendment scholar, Bosch is not, just a hack looking for a cheap and misinformed shot at Barrack Obama.

Trying to engineer a controversy in her piece: How Barack Obama Broke the Law-Do you really need to put your hand on your heart during the national anthem?, Bosch blathers on:

According to U.S. law, a civilian like Obama is supposed to stand up when the anthem is played, take off his hat, face the flag, and put his right hand over his heart. ...

So, does this mean that it's against the law to sit down for "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a baseball game? Technically, but you won't get in trouble. Though the procedure for listening to the national anthem is spelled out in the U.S. Code, you can't be punished for breaking the rules. That would likely be considered a violation of the First Amendment. For instance, the Supreme Court ruled that Jehovah's Witnesses had the right to skip the pledge.

First Amendment doctrine recognizes our right to sit during, stand at attention, drink beer to, and even refuse to say the pledge; not recite the anthem, not place your hand on your heart, take a flag and burn it (safely), and not be forced into compelled political speech as an obvious corollary to the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech.

There is no "procedure for listening to the national anthem" with the force of federal law, as Bosch would have you believe.

Bosch's assertion that one is "supposed to" (according to U.S. Law) display some patriotic display is ludicrous and reveals a grade-school understanding of the First Amendment.

The supreme law of the land is the U.S. Constitution to which Bosch finally makes a passing reference, further consideration of which ought to have killed the stupid idea for her non-story.

Yet Bosch apparently stands by her editor's headline: "How Barack Obama Broke the Law...".

Drivel from a column that dubs itself the "Explainer".

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