Bill of Rights

The First 10 Amendments tothe
Constitution as Ratified by the States

December 15, 1791

Preamble

Congress OF THE United States
begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday
theFourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eightynine.

THE Conventions of a number of theStates having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed adesire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, thatfurther declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And asextending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will bestinsure the beneficent ends of its institution

RESOLVED by the Senate and Houseof Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled,two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles beproposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as Amendments to theConstitution of the United States, all or any of which Articles, whenratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to allintents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.:

ARTICLES in addition to, andAmendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed byCongress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuantto the fifth Article of the original Constitution.

Amendment I

Congress shall makeno law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the freeexercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; orthe right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition theGovernment for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulatedMilitia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of thepeople to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall,in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of theOwner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of thepeople to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, againstunreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrantsshall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation,and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons orthings to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall beheld to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on apresentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in theland or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time ofWar or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offenceto be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in anycriminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall privateproperty be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminalprosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and publictrial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crimeshall have been committed, which district shall have been previouslyascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of theaccusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to havecompulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have theAssistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In suits atcommon law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars,the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by ajury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States,than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bailshall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusualpunishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration inthe Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny ordisparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers notdelegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by itto the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to thepeople.

Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights were the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution that were designed to ensure the rights of the people. They were straight-forward, direct, and to the point. When you read these Amendments, it is clear to see the intention of the framers of the Constitution. Why, then, is it so hotly contested?

I think it comes down to everyone’s view of the word “freedom.” Ask two different people what that word means, and you’ll probably get two different answers. Look up the word “freedom” on dictionary.com and you’ll find 17 different definitions from just one of the referenced dictionaries! Add to that the selfish desire of every person to want things “their way.” (Yes, everyone has selfish desires. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or simply fooling themselves.)

When I read the Amendments, though, they seem very clear and consice. They don’t leave any room for interpretation. They are, and were meant to be, solid and immutable rights. Yet, today, we have lawyers, judges and the Supreme Court changing these laws, adding to them, and undermining the very freedoms that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were created to protect.

Herein lies a problem. Lawyers and the Supreme Court weren’t established to write laws. That was a power reserved for Congress. That is clearly written in the US Constitution. (Read Article 1 for Congress, and article 3 for the Supreme Court). By giving the justices and lawyers free reign to redefine the law, we are removing one of the essential checks and balances built into our government by the founding fathers.

Today, we have lawyers for the ACLU working with liberal judges to rewrite our very rights. They redefine and blur the lines of truth and decide to enact their own laws. Other judges and lawyers follow suit, citing previous court rulings, instead of looking back to the original document written 215 years ago.

technorati tags:Constitution, Bill-of-Rights, Law, Politics

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Respect. It is a word that seems to have lost all meaning. It has been turned upside down and dragged through the mud. This is just another example of the lack of respect people have today. Here we have a 28-year old Navy Seal, Petty Officer, Second Class Marc Alan Lee, who was killed in Iraq.

On August 2, 2006, 28-year-old Lee held off enemy insurgents in Ramadi, Iraq, and secured enough time for his team to rescue a wounded soldier on an exposed rooftop. For Lee, the battle lasted about two hours before enemy machine gun fire brought him down.

…

Lee was the first Navy Seal to be killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003. He has quickly become recognized as an American hero. He has been rewarded the Bronze Star with Valor, the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, and Combat Action Ribbon for his bravery.

Townhall.com::Rest in peace::By Jay Sekulow

No matter how you look at it, he was a hero. Whether you agree with the war in Iraq or not, this man deserved respect. Why does he deserve respect? First and foremost, because he is a human being. Secondly, because he is a solider that gave his life trying to defend freedom and the life of his fellow soldiers. Finally, for the sake of his family who loved him, and were grieved by his death, he should be respected. Unfortunately, respect wasn’t on everyone’s mind.

The memorial service in Hood River, Oregon gave the family and friends an opportunity to honor Mark Lee’s life and service. However, a group of protestors, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), announced its intent to disturb those in attendance at Marc’s memorial service by protesting.

Townhall.com::Rest in peace::By Jay Sekulow

Say what? I ask again the same question that I started with: What happened to respect? I understand that certain people don’t like the war, and that they have every right to protest it. As far as I’m concerned, that doesn’t give them the right to disrespect one of our soldiers who was killed in the line of duty. It is disrespectful to the soldier, it is disrespectful to the family, and it makes the funeral service even more difficult for the loved ones of the fallen.

Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that this is happening across the country. Fortunately, thanks to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), this funeral was not disturbed by the protestors. But how many more are being disturbed? How many other families are forced to suffer even more during a time of such a great loss? It is ridiculous and disgraceful.

It is ironic. The ACLU has spearheaded many legal battles to gain respect for homosexuals and their lifestyle. Yet when it comes to respect for religious people, or respect for the dead and the families of the deceased, they throw respect to the wind and trample our civil liberties under their feet.

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Love is an important emotion. It is the foundation of all other emotions. Without love, there can be no joy, no friendship, no hope. Love is even the foundation for the negative emotions such as hate, fear and sorrow.

Relationships are built upon love. The strength of the love determines the strength of the relationship. As the strength of the love grows and falls, the relationship strengthens or weakens accordingly. Good friends may become bitter enemies when the love disappears on one or both sides.

The soul survives on love. The opposite of love, hate, burns away the soul, sickening it. The absence of love is almost impossible, since that would say the person was completely without emotion.

Mental and spiritual pain has the effect of “blocking” the love in the soul. This tends to cause the feelings of “heartache.” It is an empty feeling felt inside the chest.

In the bible, in the first and second chapters of Genesis is the Creation. In there it says, “And God created man in His own image.” Throughout history man has translated that to mean that were are mirror images of God. I disagree. God is an all-powerful spirit that is the embodiment of Love. That is said throughout the Bible. It is our spirit, or soul, that was created in his image. For that reason, our soul is Love.

God created physical bodies to house our souls of love, and he gave us the will to do as we please.

Satan is the opposite of Love. He is Hate. He is the corrupter of Love. When Satan first tempted Adam and Eve, he introduced into their souls the first taint of hatred, and the first feeling of pain. That taint, called “Original Sin” in the Bible, has been passed throughout the generations. Everyone is born with the taint. The soul is inherently Love, with only the taint of corruption. The soul always longs to be pure Love, the way it was created.

Due to the corruption of Love, we as humans, try to fill the gaps with physical pleasures. Since the corruption is in the soul, the physical pleasures usually do not help. Sometimes, these physical pleasures can corrupt the soul even more.

I am not saying that physical pleasures are bad, only that they can be bad. It all depends on how the physical pleasures are used, in a matter of speaking.

Sex is one of the physical pleasures that is often abused. God told Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply.” Sex accomplishes this. Everyone has the inner need and desire to have sex. There is nothing wrong with that, especially when it is used in Love.

People today seem to use sex for instant gratification. They want only the physical pleasure it achieves. To many it covers a pain inside. To others, it is used in anger and hate. Others use it in greed, a form of hate, to satisfy their desires. Few are the people who use sex for Love, as it was intended by God.

In the Bible, adultery is a sin. People today seem to do it quite frequently. There is also another form of adultery that I see. This adultery does not come from a married person sleeping with another person, but the unmarried people who “sleep around.” These people are using sex for their own benefit, not for Love.

Marriage is a union in Love, theoretically speaking. A true marriage should last, if both are truly strong in Love.

Then why are there so may broken marriages? The marriage may have happened for numerous reasons. The most common is sex. People tend to confuse sex with love, and get married for that reason. When the sex dies, the love dies, then the marriage dies.

Of course, the marriage could end for many different reasons. It all falls back on one thing, though. The Love was not strong enough.

As of yet, I have never had a girlfriend. I have had crushes and strong friendships, but not a girlfriend. I am also still a virgin. In today’s society, it is very rare to find a 22 year old virgin.

I get harassed frequently about my virginity. Everyone tells me that I should have sex; that I don’t know what I’m missing. To that, I always reply that I am waiting until marriage. I am waiting for the right girl to come along.

Love, for me, is more important than sex. I say marriage for convenience sake, since that is what I prefer. In actuality, I want to build a relationship that will be strong in Love before I have sex. A strong relationship takes time to build. I do not want to make the mistake of rushing the relationship forward too quickly. If the sex does come before marriage, I want to make sure that the Love is there to back it up.

Marriages are supposed to last. “‘Till death do us part.” I want my marriage to last, so the Love must be there. Without Love, the marriage is over before it begins.

People tell me I should have sex now, to see what it is like. That way I can know the difference between “good sex” and “bad sex.” Also, they say, so I will know how different sex is. They say that if I don’t, my marriage won’t last because I will become dissatisfied, wanting to know the difference. They say that is one of the reasons for adultery. I disagree. If the Love is strong enough, the sex will not matter. Love is a powerful force.

Love, relationships, sex and marriage are all intertwined. Love forms the foundation for everything. As long as the love is felt in the soul, things are fine. If the pleasures are mearly physical, not extending to the soul, it is wrong. You cannot take the physical pleasures with you when you die. The love in your soul is what grants you eternal life.

Technorati Tags: Letter of Reflection, Love, Marriage, Musings, Sex