The Right to Privacy

       Whenever the discussion turns to constitutional safeguards for personal privacy, it's not unusual to hear people on the political right say that there is no such thing, that the Constitution neither mentions privacy nor protects it. In fact, exactly the opposite is true, and the Constitution goes to great length to make the point.
       Amendment IV states very clearly that "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
       How this plain language could not be interpreted as the guarantee of privacy that it most assuredly represents is a mystery. Not only is the government enjoined from snooping into your affairs, but in order to poke around at all, there must be a sworn statement from someone attesting to an observation of some particular evidence of criminality before any government agency can intrude upon your person, your domicile or your personal effects. That is a powerful guarantee of privacy; there really is no other way to interpret that.
       But just in case the point is not made sufficiently clear by Amendment IV, there is Amendment IX, which states in very plain language that "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." This means that just because a right is not specifically mentioned by name in the Constitution does not mean the people do not possess that right. In other words, rights are to be interpreted expansively.
       And lest anyone miss the point that Amendment IX limits governmental power in ways not explicitly listed, there is Amendment X, which states, also in plain language, that "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." This means that if a power is not granted explicitly by the Constiutution to the government, then the government does not possess and may not assume that power. In other words, government power is to be interpreted restrictively.
       Personal rights are to be interpreted expansively while government power is to be interpreted restrictively. It's all there in plain language in the Constitution. Everyone should read it.

How Bush Supports the Troops

       The president visited injured troops at Brooke Army Medical Center on New Year's Day, 2006, to award Purple Hearts and in an apparent attempt to boost morale and maybe get some good press. While most of what he said was typical morale boosting rhetoric (though nothing was said about restoring benefits cut from veterans' programs, which would have been a genuine morale booster) two of Bush's statement stand out.
        "I can't think of a better way to start 2006 than here at this fantastic hospital," Bush said. Really? I'll bet the 51 seriously injured soldiers and marines staying at Brooke AMC can think of a better way. How about at home with their families? Leave it to Bush to mock another's pain and suffering, something he's shown an affinity for on previous occasions.
       The Commander-in-Chief also said to the injured troops, "As you can possibly see, I have an injury myself - not here at the hospital, but in combat with a cedar. I eventually won. The cedar gave me a little scratch."
       The silence must have been deafening. Imagine saying something like that to someone who lost their leg fighting a guerilla war you started! What a way to insult the troops! Who could be that insensitive? It shows what an utter lack of awareness Bush has of real people and real life. It's obvious that to him 'compassion' is just a sound bite word he got from Rove. Hell, the guy even says he doesn't read.
       Never misunderestimate this president's depthitude for shallowness (or his capacitation for evildoing in the name of righteousity, which is what got those troops into Brooke AMC in the first place).