America's North Shore Journal

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 … Read entire article »

While reading through the various NRO blogs [note to NRO, overkill, people, overkill!] I came across a curious turn of phrase that I have seen in a number of other conservative writings. That notion is that it is “invention” if a court discerns a right that is not enumerated in the United States Constitution. That is so wrong that my mind is boggling as you read this. A boggling tsunami, if you will. The Bill of Rights very clearly states that a variety of rights exist that are not described in the Constitution. That would be the oft ignored yet still in effect Article Nine: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. The problem with the courts, IMHO, is … Read entire article »

Here’s some short points to remember as the confirmation process for Judge Roberts goes on. You have a great many rights that are not named in the Constitution. One of them is a right to privacy. The government has no business in your personal life. That is NOT a right to an abortion. It is merely the conclusion that the federal government has no business in your doctor’s examining room. The Constitution restricts the federal government. States and localities may do things that the federal government is prevented from doing. Not everything is a federal issue. Your rights, explicit or not, have limits. Most of those limits are at the point where they affect another person. The Senate of the United States is not the House of Lords. Though they seem to believe such. They are your … Read entire article »

The uproar over the recent decision to strike down the Texas law against same-sex sodomy continues. And I don’t understand why. Most of the objections being raised on the right concern the “creation” of a new right under the United States Constitution. Here are Amendments Nine and Ten of the Bill of Rights: Amendment IX The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Amendment X The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. I have seen pundit after pundit decry the fact that a right to privacy, a right to sexual privacy, does not exist in the Constitution. Guess what, folks. The … Read entire article »