A few reminders for the constitutionally challenged

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"The right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon ... has ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right."

-- James Madison

The Bill of Rights does not grant rights. Those 10 amendments limit the power of government to encroach on the rights presumed to belong to all of us.

The Founders were students of the proponents of natural law, especially John Locke and his treatises on government. For the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson drew from Locke's argument that government must protect the people's life, liberty and property or it may be legitimately overthrown.

James Madison embraced Locke's concepts of checks and balances in the Constitution. Madison even thought the Bill of Rights unnecessary because such rights are presumed.

Rights come from nature, not government.

Look at how the Bill of Rights is phrased. None says the state hereby grants these rights to its citizens. It should more properly have been called the Bill of Prohibitions.

"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ..."

The freedom is presumed and Congress shall not interfere.

"... the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed ..."

The right exists. Don't infringe.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons ..." "... the right of trial by jury shall be preserved ..."

Preserved, not granted.

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

They are enumerated, not granted. And those not enumerated are retained by the people.

Don't imagine what you want the Constitution to say or pretend it says something it does not.

If you, like the president, don't like what the Constitution says, amend it.

An amendment banning corporate free speech probably would pass, because most people think the rest of us are too gullible to resist a message backed by money.

If that's the case, this experiment in democracy is over.

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