On Biden's Move to Restrict the Supreme Court, Hamilton, and Federalist No. 78

Biden is trying to restrict the Supreme Court by imposing term limits, and other constraints, because he and his constituents disagree with some of its recent judgements. The leftists "news" organizations, now nothing more than propoganda arms for the Democrat Party, are obediently fueling the flames with innuendo and false claims against Supreme Court judges.

But all of those rulings were proper, and legally correct. To rule in any other way would have been to move in contradiction to the Constitution:

• By overturning “Chevron” they correctly removed the ability of federal agencies to be effectively the legislator, the accuser, and the judge, and there now must be a trial by jury,
• By overturning Roe v. Wade, they correctly returned power to the States to decide a complicated issue, and eliminated a blanket right that made legal, any abortion, any time, anywhere, for any reason, clearly not a right defined in our Constitution.
• By ruling that Presidents of the United States are immune from prosecution for official acts while President they correctly stated the obvious, that a President cannot be prosecuted for, let’s say, taking out the chief Iranian terrorist, Colonel Soleimani, by blowing up his car with him and his crew in it, via an unmanned drone. The Court’s ruling probably doesn’t even cover the current charges against Trump because his actions were likely not “official acts.” Other courts will decide.

Alexander Hamilton, foresaw, nearly 250 years ago, as if through a looking glass, the current-day moves of Biden and the Leftists, and added safeguards to our system to protect against them, the very safeguards that Biden by his own admission seeks to remove. 

Hamilton lays out his reasoning for the independence of the federal judiciary in the famous Federalist No. 78.

Every single paragraph is brilliant, but here are some relevant extracts:

"For I agree, that 'there is no liberty, if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers.'

“…The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution. By a limited Constitution, I understand one which contains certain specified exceptions to the legislative authority...Limitations of this kind can be preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of courts of justice, whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing

“Some perplexity respecting the rights of the courts to pronounce legislative acts void, because contrary to the Constitution, has arisen from an imagination that the doctrine would imply a superiority of the judiciary to the legislative power. It is urged that the authority which can declare the acts of another void, must necessarily be superior to the one whose acts may be declared void…

"If, then, the courts of justice are to be considered as the bulwarks of a limited Constitution against legislative encroachments, this consideration will afford a strong argument for the permanent tenure of judicial offices, since nothing will contribute so much as this to that independent spirit in the judges which must be essential to the faithful performance of so arduous a duty.

“This independence of the judges is equally requisite to guard the Constitution and the rights of individuals from the effects of those ill humors, which the arts of designing men, or the influence of particular conjunctures, sometimes disseminate among the people themselves, and which, though they speedily give place to better information, and more deliberate reflection, have a tendency, in the meantime, to occasion dangerous innovations in the government, and serious oppressions of the minor party in the community."

These questions we are grappling with currently, were soundly answered two centuries and a half ago. But most people, instead of reading and pondering this famous paper, a masterpiece, and patiently consuming it as a fine, well-provisioned dinner, they prefer to snack on absurd, unhealthy, partisan sound bites from CNN, MSNBC, and NPR, at best, or simply tweets at worst. They are not willing to do the work.

God Bless our Founding Fathers, and God Bless America.

On Calls for "Unity"

I finally figured out what bothers me about calls by the Dem's for "unity".

What does "unity" mean?

If by "unity" they mean to avoid personal attacks on their dialectical opponents then I'm in. But that is more properly called "civility", which they clearly don't practice themselves, having eviscerated for four years the reputation and character of Trump and to some degree his followers, and seek to further ruin the lives of dissenters.

If by "unity" they mean coming together to find solutions to problems, then I'm in. But that to me is essentially "compromise", another thing they have not practiced in any way shape or form for the past four years.

Lastly, if by "unity" they mean agreement with their agenda, then that is undemocratic and dictatorial. That to me is more properly called "conformance", and this is what I believe they will demand under the name of "unity" for the next few years, and accuse all non-conformists to their agenda of being "divisive."

Our Cultural War

Now that The Left controls the House, the Senate (albeit precariously), all major media, almost all colleges and universities, and Hollywood, what should one who espouses traditional American values do? As a member of that group, I’ve decided for the moment to focus on maintaining my inner peace, work, and achieving my personal goals. My societal focus shifts from the recent elections to the ongoing cultural war in America. The outcomes of this cultural war always determine the outcomes of the political war. The cultural war we are in consists of a fight for supremacy over the minds of hundreds of millions of Americans and is between two opposing sets of values. The recent presidential election is merely a change on the scoreboard of this fight, an indicator of the latest cultural shifts in America, in this case a strong run by The Left.

How did this shift happen?

It started with ideas. Ideas have power. When they are adopted by an individual, particularly with emotion behind them, they manifest themselves in the form of observable behavioral changes. If adopted by enough people en masse within a society the resulting collective behavioral changes will shift the ideological center of that society and thereby cause a shift of political power. That in turn will change the culture, and become observable in literature, journalism, art, philosophy, movies, podcasts, conversation, social norms, what is considered "ok" by most (a society's moral compass), and in many other ways.

We are currently witnessing this process play out in America.

Certain ideas have been inculcated in the minds of millions of Americans, especially over the past fifty years, and two generations of youth have become open slates to write them on. These ideas, theories, were planted in American thought by a group of core intellectuals after which they have spread like a virus. They first appeared in books, published papers, college classrooms, and think tanks. They were then absorbed by a broader group, that consisted primarily of college professors, students, and a small, reading public. These college professors themselves then began to spread those theories through the same channels. These were spread in everyday conversation, but many students and readers then wrote books themselves, or movies and TV shows, weaving these ideas into their stories, which were then disseminated to the reading and viewing public, often as presumed "entertainment". The cycle continued, as the ideas sprouted and grew to bear fruit.

(Some say that actors employed by foreign countries as part of a long-term, deliberate act of subversion helped plant and nurture these ideas in American soil. Yuri Bezmenov, a defected, former KGB propaganda expert explained this subversion process in detail, as he was taught it in the former Soviet Union, in a highly compelling lecture to some American students way back in 1983. It's hard not to be shocked at the degree to which events that have transpired since correspond to the stages of subversion he outlined. Regardless of whether the originators were subversives or merely sympathetic Americans, the effect is the same.)

These ideas lead us to the two opposing sets of values in the cultural war: Leftist Morality and Traditional American Values.

Here is a list of some of the ideas that have been planted, cultivated, and are now yielding their unholy fruit: 

• The de-emphasis of logic, critical thinking, and the search for objective truth as the paramount goals of learning and education, and their replacement with a subjective Leftist Morality, especially evident within the disciplines of History, Literature, Philosophy, and Political Science.
• The creation of “safe spaces” on college campuses, where only a narrow set of ideas is allowed to be heard, free of dissenting opinions, even if true, that might support Traditional American Values and thereby "harm" the students. All this replaces free discussion, the open marketplace of ideas, and open invitations to speakers with intellectual prowess across a broad spectrum of ideas.
• The devaluation and even demonization of the idea of rugged individualism, the entrepreneurial, independent, strong, free spirit that built America, replaced by the idea of collectivism, where the collective state takes precedence over the individual. "It takes a village to raise a child."
• The corresponding delegitimization of core American institutions and symbols, such as advocating the removal of the Electoral College, and destroying monuments of American heroes.
• The delegitimization of Religion and replacement of religious morality with the new Leftist Morality.
• The suppression of speech, not on the grounds that it is untrue, but that it violates the norms of the new Leftist Morality, that is that it might be considered "offensive" to one or more groups.

The societal adoption of these ideas inhibits the very ability of Americans to openly challenge them, making them even more insidious. All of them erode American institutions and values that form the foundation of freedom, opportunity for all, and what made America great, and therefore lead to catastrophe for every one of us.

However after having been delivered continuously for over fifty years through the aforementioned books, classrooms, movies, television shows, news broadcasts, and other elements of popular culture, and thereby normalized, these ideas are beginning to become accepted by the American mainstream and that is leading to the erosion of the American system.

 

The entire process is so subtle, that it is almost imperceptible when spread out over many years. As the old adage goes, "If you drop a frog in boiling water it will immediately jump out, but if you put it in warm water and gradually bring it to a boil, it will stay until it is dead." 

The Leftist Moralism is a major current in the ocean of American ideas and like the Gulf Stream impacts the globe, it significantly impacts all areas of American society. We'll call this stream the Social Justice Movement. Its tributaries include the BLM, LGBTQ, immigrant, feminist, Native American, socialist, and labor rights movements, all of which subtly erode the ideas of free enterprise and opportunity that made our country great and created the modern world, and replace them with social engineering by a small group, under the ruse that this is required to establish social justice. 

This movement in our ongoing cultural war, this cultural shift has resulted in a political power shift, and that is what we just witnessed. 

So over the next few years, as I focus on my own inner peace, work, and personal goals, and observe from afar whatever The Left will do while they have the power, I will continue to spread ideas that might help my side in the cultural war to win it, the side that above all values freedom, capitalism, the entrepreneurial spirit, freedom of opportunity, freedom of religion, individual achievement, free speech, truth, and the laws and institutions in which these values are enshrined.

-Forsyth

New Statement!

To all utility companies:

I am not nor ever have been even remotely interested much less excited about the fact that you've paid someone to come up with a new design for my monthly bill. (Example: Georgia Power)

In fact, I'm rather annoyed that you would think so.

Thank you very much,

-Forsyth

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R.I.P. Steve

I am sad.

In spite of detractors, none of which achieved even a miniscule percentage of what you did, you...

...inspired us.

...were an amazing human being.

...made your mark.

...saw things others didn't see, and made them happen, in a big, big way.

...revolutionized forever entire categories such as consumer electronics, industrial design, the phone, music players, music distribution, animated feature production, and so many other things.

...will be missed.

Thank you, and so long.

All my respect,

-Forsyth

Lays Salt & Vinegar Chips

Damn they're good!

They're just perfect.

Lordy.

-Forsyth