Saturday, September 28, 2024

US Supreme Court History 9-28-24

The Supreme Court was created as an independent branch of the US federal government to ensure that the US Constitution is faithfully followed.  Benjamin Franklin warned that we have a “Republic, if you can keep it. The founders knew the history of “Democracies” had a history of failure. The Greeks couldn’t keep it and neither could the Romans. They were distracted with wars and corruption. The Founders were committed to avoiding these distractions and they chose to make the US a “Republic”. They formed the Congress as the 2nd independent branch, composed of the House and the Senate. The House was closest to the People and was tasked with control over spending. All spending Bills are required to be initiated by the House. The Senate was limited to 2 Senators for each State and they had to agree with the House in order to pass a Bill. The President headed the 3rd independent branch called the “Executive” and all Bills required approval by the President before they would become Federal Laws. 

The Supreme Court serves as the “Referee” to determine whether or not the actions of the Congress and the President are lawful. Jefferson and his supporters in the Senate therefore devised an argument that the constitutional provision for governing a territory presupposed the right to acquire that territory. They had the votes to approve the treaty and appropriate the funds to pay for it. The Supreme Court later upheld their reasoning. The Louisiana Purchase was determined to be “Constitutional”.

The establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 was considered constitutional because it was established by an act of Congress. The U.S. Constitution's property clause gives Congress the authority to develop laws. My objection to the creation of “National Parks” is a “State’s Rights” case that has not yet to be presented. It is based on the “Limited Powers” sections of the US Constitution and States Rights to own the property. This would make them State Parks and States would be able to sell or lease the land to farmers and ranchers and assume the cost of developing and maintaining the Parks. Western States with high Federal land ownership would be able to allow mining and forestry, eliminate the annual forest fires and increase State GDP.

Trump’s appointments of “Originalists” helped the Supreme Court retain its purpose as a “Referee” and saved it from becoming a Legislature. Moving the Abortion issue to the States allows voters to decide the legal definition of when life begins. Women who don’t want to be moms can have their tubes tied. Those who claim that abortion is a right prefer to murder their babies and want it to be legal.

The Supreme Court will continue to take new cases and reverse past decisions based on the US Constitution’s “Original Intent” rather than the “bandwagon” of the day to avoid “overreach”. Basing decisions on “case law” only expands the errors.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

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