Support the movement to cut the pork from the budget. All the news at the link above.

Support the movement to cut the pork from the budget. All the news at the link above.

The President has issued an Executive Order to counter the Kelo decision at the Federal level. I’m not sure if it is just show or if it really matters. The majority of the problems are at the local and state levels.

White House

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to strengthen the rights of the American people against the taking of their private property, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to protect the rights of Americans to their private property, including by limiting the taking of private property by the Federal Government to situations in which the taking is for public use, with just compensation, and for the purpose of benefiting the general public and not merely for the purpose of advancing the economic interest of private parties to be given ownership or use of the property taken.

Sec. 2. Implementation. (a) The Attorney General shall:

(i) issue instructions to the heads of departments and agencies to implement the policy set forth in section 1 of this order; and

(ii) monitor takings by departments and agencies for compliance with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

(b) Heads of departments and agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law:

(i) comply with instructions issued under subsection (a)(i); and

(ii) provide to the Attorney General such information as the Attorney General determines necessary to carry out subsection (a)(ii).

Sec. 3. Specific Exclusions. Nothing in this order shall be construed to prohibit a taking of private property by the Federal Government, that otherwise complies with applicable law, for the purpose of:

(a) public ownership or exclusive use of the property by the public, such as for a public medical facility, roadway, park, forest, governmental office building, or military reservation;

(b) projects designated for public, common carrier, public transportation, or public utility use, including those for which a fee is assessed, that serve the general public and are subject to regulation by a governmental entity;

c) conveying the property to a nongovernmental entity, such as a telecommunications or transportation common carrier, that makes the property available for use by the general public as of right;

(d) preventing or mitigating a harmful use of land that constitutes a threat to public health, safety, or the environment;

(e) acquiring abandoned property;

(f) quieting title to real property;

(g) acquiring ownership or use by a public utility;

(h) facilitating the disposal or exchange of Federal property; or

(i) meeting military, law enforcement, public safety, public transportation, or public health emergencies.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency or the head thereof; or

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(c) This order shall be implemented in a manner consistent with Executive Order 12630 of March 15, 1988.

(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

GEORGE W. BUSH

THE WHITE HOUSE,

June 23, 2006.

Support the movement to cut the pork from the budget. All the news at the link above.

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

The Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Another blogger, blogging in the local media, asked me in an e-mail what the tag line for this blog was all about. Supporting the Ninth Amendment?

The Bill of Rights was added when it became clear that a number of the original 13 states were not going to approve the Constitution without a clear statement of the limits of the Federal Government. As you read those first ten amendments, note how often they restrict the government. The restrictions are valid for our time, but they spell out the concerns that the writers had at that time. They has just fought a terrible war to obtain their independence from a national government that did many things that our founders found unjust and a violation of the rights of the people. In limiting their new national government, they called special attention to those areas where the English had been oppressive.

The entire premise of the Bill of Rights is spelled out in the Ninth Amendment. You have rights which exist independent of government. The government does not give you rights. You do not earn them. You do not inherit them. They are yours by reason of your existence.

The rights that the Bill of Rights address are not all the rights which you have. You have rights that are not spelled out in the Constitution. The notion exists that if it is not pronounced a right in the Constitution, it does not exist. That is not what the document says.

In a perfect world, most of the laws that the Congress passes would be tossed out as violating one or more of these existing but unwritten rights. The Constitution was intended to limit the national government.

I want to limit the national government. I support the Ninth Amendment.