Michael Boldin of the 10th Amendment Center discusses how the doctrine of enumerated powers has become quaint, how the Constitution provides persuasive talking points for a strictly limited government for those otherwise undisposed, why activist priorities should be on limiting federal power as it is the most expansive and potentially destructive and how the states are, in some cases, resisting federal laws and asserting their own.

Under the radar in most spheres until now, Wisconsin Assembly Bill 203 (introduced in April, 2009) seeks to restore a Constitutional balance to the common practice of federalizing the national guard.

AB203 “requires the governor to examine every federal order that places the Wisconsin national guard on federal active duty to determine if that order is lawful and valid. If the governor determines that the federal order is not lawful or valid, the bill requires the governor to take appropriate action, which may include commencing legal action in state or federal court, to prevent the Wisconsin national guard from being placed on federal active duty.”

The bill also “requires the governor to submit to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature a summary of the governor’s review of every federal order that places the Wisconsin national guard on federal active duty and any action he or she takes in response to that review.”

The Guard considers its charter to be the Constitution of the United States, and specifically mentions Article I, Section 8, Clause 15:

Clause 15 provides that the Congress has three constitutional grounds for calling up the militia — “to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrection and repel invasions.” All three standards appear to be applicable only to the Territory of the United States.

Read the full text of the Bill below:

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB203, s. 1
Section 1. 321.02 (3) of the statutes is created to read:

321.02 (3) The governor shall examine every federal order that places the national guard on federal active duty after the effective date of this subsection …. [LRB inserts date], to determine whether the order is lawful and valid. If the governor determines that the order is not lawful or valid, he or she shall take appropriate action to prevent the national guard from being placed on federal active duty. Appropriate action may include commencing a legal action in state or federal court to prevent the national guard from being placed on federal active duty.

The governor shall submit a report to the standing committees of the legislature with specified subject matter jurisdiction over military affairs, as provided under s. 13.172 (3), that summarizes his or her review of every order that places the national guard on federal active duty and any action he or she takes in response to that review, within 30 days after his or her review is complete.

Here’s an excerpt:

Over the airwaves and in print, Americans are being told repeatedly that the stumbling economy has transformed the country into a simmering pot of “populist rage.”

Frank Rich at the New York Times posited that “unchecked populist rage” could overrun President Obama’s agenda.

Fareed Zakaria on CNN asked, “So, the populist rage against these million-dollar bonuses and the companies that give them–has it all gone too far?” And “Hardball” host Chris Matthews recently went to a commercial with this tease: “Up next, how should Democrats and Republicans harness this populist rage?

The article continues:

For further clarification, let’s ask an actual populist.

“I wouldn’t say I’m enraged,” said Michael Boldin, co-founder of the California-based Populist Party of America. “I am pretty irritated.”

Populist irritation? No way that’s going to fly with the pundits and headline writers.

Boldin explained that populists like him focus on what is best for the people.

“Virtually everything that the government is doing now is wrong,” Boldin said, referring to the billions in bailout bucks being tossed about. “Almost 180 degrees from that would be the right way to do it. People need to save and be more frugal, and monetary policy needs to chill for a little.”

The main point is that even if people are frustrated, even if people are sick and tired of war, corporatism and violations of their liberty, not much is really changing.

Huppke seems to agree:

Way to go, America. Populist rage finally becomes fashionable and the best we can do is vote angry. Not only are we broke, it appears we’re hopelessly boring.

Way to go, Rex – and thanks for the opportunity to contribute to your article.

Debt is what drives our economy, and too much debt has caused a lot of problems.  So, to solve this crisis, we need to make sure that you start taking on even more debt.

Yup, more debt is what he wants…more debt for you and me…to buy more stuff that we just don’t need.  We don’t need more cars, or more houses, or more plasma tv’s.  We’ve got plenty of that stuff already!

Makes me think of a short video from a couple years ago, “The Story of Stuff”

Many are completely unaware of the United State’s involvement overseas in the past; however, the US has a long history of being deeply involved in Middle Eastern affairs.

Watch it:

Chris Brunner over at LewRockwell.com put together an impressive list of banks – and their health.  As he said in his post, I don’t think you’ll see a list like this anywhere…the FDIC and the banks themselves have a vested interest in keeping this kind of information from you.Here’s what Chris had to say:

A few days ago, a friend of mine called me to ask if I had any idea how to figure out which banks would be the next to fail. Some extensive googling revealed that while lists of troubled banks obviously exist, none of them seem to be readily available to the public. Why? Because the bankers do not want you to have this. Just watch the president of the American Bankers Association in this interview talk about how important it is to keep this private.

This is a list of all of the banks in the United States and the corresponding Texas Ratio for each one. Developed by Gerard Cassidy, the Texas ratio is a measure of a bank’s credit troubles. Basically, the higher the ratio, the worse the situation is for that particular bank. Banks with a ratio of 100 and higher are in very serious danger of collapse, and banks with a ratio of 50 or higher are vulnerable.

This is the formula I used:
100 * ((Non-performing Assets – U.S guaranteed loans) + Other REO) / (Equity + Loss Reserves)

All of this information is available on the FDIC website, but it’s extremely difficult to gather in a meaningful way. In fact, I don’t think you’ll find a list like this anywhere else on the internet.

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4. What’ll History Say About Today’s America? – by Brian Trent
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5. On Supporting the Troops – by Larken Rose
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7. Subprime: Criminal Monetary System – by Stephen Neitzke
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8. Money as Debt – by Carolyn Baker
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9. The Basic Flaw of Neoconservatism – by Charley Reese
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10. Not Your Father’s Republican Party – by Cliff Carson
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Some great articles from a wide range of viewpoints. As always, we thank everyone who both contributes, and reads our content!

And, as Peter Schiff argues in the WSJ, there’s no free pass to get out of this one – “There’s No Pain-Free Cure for Recession“

Here’s an excerpt:

As recession fears cause the nation to embrace greater state control of the economy and unimaginable federal deficits, one searches in vain for debate worthy of the moment. Where there should be an historic clash of ideas, there is only blind resignation and an amorphous queasiness that we are simply sweeping the slouching beast under the rug.

I believe these ideas hold sway largely because they promise happy, pain-free solutions. They are the economic equivalent of miracle weight-loss programs that require no dieting or exercise. The theories permit economists to claim mystic wisdom, governments to pretend that they have the power to dispel hardship with the whir of a printing press, and voters to believe that they can have recovery without sacrifice.

We need to realize that government can’t magically cure this disease.  Everything they’re doing is just putting off the inevitable, and the longer we wait, the worse it’s going to be.  Like Schiff says, it’s going to hurt, so it’s probably best to take some big pains now, rather than even bigger ones later on.

Tens of millions of people were murdered by his regime, but yet, he was voted Russia’s third most popular historical figure in a nationwide poll that ended on Sunday.

I wonder, will Americans consider the murderer Bush to be their 3rd greatest leader in 2070?  The way the public school system indoctrinates our children to love the government and worship political leaders, I wouldn’t find it too surprising.