Month: July 2011

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>Happy July 4th to us all!
by N. Cinneide

The 4th of July has been an important holiday but today, more and more people do not know why we actually celebrate this day. If you are not up to date on your history of the United States, July 4th, 1776 is the day that the colonies decided to declare themselves independent of Britain. By writing a very detailed decree, they decided that they no longer would need to be governed by the Kings of England that had been so very unjust to the colonists in the years before. On July 4th, America was born. We call the 4th of July Independence Day because this day was the day they declared independence from Great Britain.

We celebrate the fact that we are a free nation that is no under the rule of another. But, there is more to the celebration of independence than just the fact that this is the birthday of the United States. In fact, there are many goals and ideas that are represented in this celebration that until this day we fight for and protect around the world.

The Declaration of Independence, the actual decree in which was signed the independence of the United States, stands as a symbol for all of the things that we, as Americans, believe in. What are the symbols that it stands for?

The right to live with the freedoms of religion, without persecution and with the ability to think and do for yourself.

The courage it takes to protect freedom. It took the individuals that signed the Declaration a great deal of courage to do so as they could have been hung for treason. We use this symbol as a means to remind us that courage is often needed in times when our freedoms are threatened.

A symbol that people can live in a country that is governed by its people and that every person in that country is a very important person for its well being.

We celebrate the 4th of July for a number of reasons. We talk about how the United States of America was born and how many have died for that to happen. We celebrate the fact that we, as a nation, want all people to be free. And, we realize that without the courage and bravery of all those that came before us, we would not have the freedoms that we hold so very dear to us.

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The Resolution for Independence presented to the Second Continental Congress by Richard Henry Lee

June 7, 1776

“Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.


That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances.


That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation.”

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Founders-Religion-and-Government/106677312693315

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 Photo Credit:  Courtesy of Boyd A. Loving

Photo Credit:  Courtesy of Boyd A. Loving


Pedestrian Struck -East Ridgewood Avenue and North Maple Avenue
by Boyd Loving 


A pedestrian was struck by a motor vehicle at the corner of East Ridgewood Avenue and North Maple Avenue at approximately 2:30 PM on Sunday, July 3rd.  The victim suffered minor injuries and was transported to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood by members of the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps.  The driver of the vehicle involved in the collision was issued one summons.

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Time to Make Professors Teach

My new study suggests a simple way to cut college tuition in half.

By RICHARD VEDDER

No sooner do parents proudly watch their children graduate high school than they must begin paying for college. As they write checks for upwards of $40,000 a year, they’ll no doubt find themselves complaining loudly about rising college costs—even asking: “Is it worth it?”

It’s a legitimate question. As college costs have risen wildly, the benefits of the degree seem less and less clear. Larger numbers of college graduates are taking relatively low-paying and low-skilled jobs.

The good news? There are ways to greatly ease the burden and make college more affordable, according to new data from the University of Texas at Austin.

In a study for the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, Christopher Matgouranis, Jonathan Robe and I concluded that tuition fees at the flagship campus of the University of Texas could be cut by as much as half simply by asking the 80% of faculty with the lowest teaching loads to teach about half as much as the 20% of faculty with the highest loads. The top 20% currently handle 57% of all teaching.

https://timesoftexas.com/2011/06/08/time-to-make-professors-teach-it-a-legitimate-statement/ 

>Part 2 From New Jersey Attorney Leo Donofrio’s website today, June 30, 2011 (see https://naturalborncitizen.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/the-express-lane-to-natural-born-clarity):

THE EXPRESS LANE TO NATURAL BORN CLARITY (CTD.)

In US v. Wong Kim Ark, the US District Attorney argued that Ark was not a citizen because his parents were aliens. Ark was a person from the other “class” discussed in Minor whose citizenship was in doubt. Since Wong Kim Ark was not a natural-born citizen, his citizenship could not be determined by Article 2 Section 1. Therefore, the Supreme Court looked to the 14th Amendment to grant Wong Kim Ark US citizenship.

Again, if Wong Kim Ark had been a natural-born citizen, the Supreme Court would never have reached the 14th Amendment issue (just as it didn’t reach it in Minor.)

The Court determined Wong Kim Ark was a “citizen” under the 14th Amendment, but in doing so the Court did not expand the “class” of persons who were eligible to be President. This is because the Court specified clearly that it was only construing the 14th Amendment, not Article 2 Section 1. Article 2 Section 1 and the 14th Amendment are mutually exclusive sections of the US Constitution.

ONLY NATIONAL LAW MAKES BINDING PRECEDENT.

The Supreme Court’s definition of the natural-born citizen clause in Minor is not common law, natural law, or international law. Vattel is not cited by the Supreme Court in Minor. And Vattel does not make US law. The Court’s holding in Minor is national law. It is United States law.

Those other sources may have been consulted, but when the Court held that Minor was a citizen under Article 2 Section 1 because she was born in the US of citizen parents, that definition became national law. Therefore, Minor supersedes all other sources on this point. It is a direct Constitutional interpretation and definition.

The other sources are not necessary. Relying upon them actually weakens the authority of Minor. There is no need for insecurity in the face of supporting Supreme Court precedent.

On November 22, 2008, Justice Scalia addressed the Federalist Society, stating:

“Natural law has nothing to do with originalism. I mean, I believe in natural law, but unfortunately I have no way to show or demonstrate that my understanding of it is the same as yours, or is the same as anybody else’s. I don’t enforce natural law. I suppose God enforces natural law. I enforce United States law. United States law should not contravene natural law, but that’s not my problem… I worry about, ‘What does this text mean?’ ” (Emphasis added.)

Earlier in that same speech, Justice Scalia stated:

“What has happened can only be compared to the naive belief that we used to have in the common law… Erie Railroad, you know, blows that all away… and we sort of chuckle at how naive the world could have been ever to have thought there was a common law…”

Do not get sidetracked by extraneous theoretical sources. We have United States Supreme Court precedent which defines a natural-born citizen – under Article 2 Section 1 – as a person born on US soil to parents who were citizens. Neither Obama nor McCain fit that definition. Neither are eligible to be President.

While some may argue McCain was eligible based upon a reference to Vattel, McCain simply does not fit the strict US Supreme Court definition of natural-born citizen as defined in Minor. To fashion an exception for McCain not found in the actual text from Minor is purely partisan and unfair.

Unlike others commenting on eligibility, I have always maintained that both McCain and Obama were not eligible. I brought my law suit all the way to the Supreme Court – prior to the election – arguing against both candidates’ eligibility. I was the first person to raise this issue with the American people. And I hold them both accountable for the damage done to our Constitution as a result of neither having more concern for themselves than they did for the nation.