Welcome to Thunderdome

Posted: **Wed Jul 28, 2004 5:14 pm**

Ok, here's a start:

Our Constitutional Republic has room for dissenters, no matter how moonbat they may be. A government of limited powers with all other rights reserved to the people has room for those who love differently, and doesn't care whether gymnastics equipment is used in the act or not. It has room for anything and everything, with only a few exceptions:

-Thou mayest not insist that others live as you would have them live, believe what you would have them believe, or pray (or not) as you would have them pray (or not).

-Thou mayest not take other people shit, nor limit the shit they might have. (Sorry, Marxist, you can't play. That goes for you too, Gun Bigots.)

-Thou mayest not do that which is likely to harm another, as an immediate, innevitable consequence. Swingest thy fist freely, but mindeth my nose. Shooteth thy gun, but knoweth thy backstop. Mixeth thy chemicals, but give not thy aftermath to me. Burnest thine coal, but keepest thy smoke.

-The taxes though taketh mayest only be spent as thou art chartered to spend them, and may be no more than needest for that.

Posted: **Wed Jul 28, 2004 5:27 pm**

Leaves room to interpretation on a couple things. "Immediate" and "inevitable" are two words that spring to mind. & "need" is another. Did St. Louis really need fucking Metrolink? Not really, but the rest o' the country still got to foot the bill for it. Ever wonder what would happen if folks found out exactly where their tax dollars went? Damn, they'd all be pissed.

Posted: **Wed Jul 28, 2004 8:05 pm**

If St. Louis II needs a Metrolink II, then they can damn well pay for it themselves, however they see fit.

Immediate and innevitable are open to interpretation on a case-by-case basis, but the interpretation is fairly limited. I like it.

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 10:46 am**

Leaves room to interpretation on a couple things. "Immediate" and "inevitable" are two words that spring to mind. & "need" is another. Did St. Louis really need fucking Metrolink? Not really, but the rest o' the country still got to foot the bill for it. Ever wonder what would happen if folks found out exactly where their tax dollars went? Damn, they'd all be pissed.

Any words are going to be open to interpretation. And when they are not, the writing is usually so specific that there are then loopholes from it being too generic.

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:34 am**

And the Constitution needs to be defined as what the gov't CAN do, not as a list of things that are forbidden.

Edited By GORDON on 1150307802

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 12:18 pm**

Heh, I wonder what a re-worded commerce clause would look like.

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 2:06 pm**

And the Constitution needs to be defined as what the gov't CAN do, not as a list of things that are forbidden.

Did I miss the sarcasm? I thought only the Bill of Rights was the only exclusion of powers. I remember the Constitution as being definitions of powers for each branch of government. All other powers going to the States.

Did I read the wrong book again?

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 2:19 pm**

No, you read it right, you're just a couple of hundred years behind. That's not how anyone else reads it anymore.

I wonder if there's any way to write a constitution so that the politicians can't come along later and just ignore it, like they have in the US.

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 2:25 pm**

No, you read it right, you're just a couple of hundred years behind. That's not how anyone else reads it anymore.

I wonder if there's any way to write a constitution so that the politicians can't come along later and just ignore it, like they have in the US.

No wonder my back hurts.

I think the only thing that will keep the politicians from perverting it is to get rid of professional politicians. Let's make government positions mandatory. Kinda like mandatory military service. Everyone gets a shot. With some many people on a learning curve they really couldn't do too much. Add to that different backgrounds and voila you have a governing body at a stand still. This is a win-win for me.

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 2:30 pm**

And the Constitution needs to be defined as what the gov't CAN do, not as a list of things that are forbidden.
Did I miss the sarcasm? I thought only the Bill of Rights was the only exclusion of powers. I remember the Constitution as being definitions of powers for each branch of government. All other powers going to the States.

Did I read the wrong book again?

Jefferson had concerns with the Louisiana Purchase because the Constitution didn't say he could use gov't money to buy land... but it is commonly held that T Roosevelt is the first President to really run with the idea that, "Well, it doesn't say I CAN'T so I guess I CAN."

Show me where in the Constitution where it says the gov't can fund national parks, for example. And you know gov't just exploded from there.

Which is why I'm saying it has to be written into the preamble of our Constitution that "here's what we ARE allowed to do." It severely cuts down on the crap gov't can pull.

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 3:52 pm**

Let's make government positions mandatory. Kinda like mandatory military service.

No and no.

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:01 pm**

Let's make government positions mandatory. Kinda like mandatory military service.
No and no.

Seconded. I think the idea is to have as few government positions as possible anyways. And not make it a life-long employment cesspool that it is today.

Posted: **Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:03 pm**

I like the idea of mandatory military service, though... thought I can see it the other way as well. This would need to be a new thread.