Free Republic

The ECA reform also blocks most, though not all, routes to submitting false or fake electors to Congress. Under the new law, only a state’s governor can submit electors to Congress, which prevents “the potential for multiple state officials to send Congress competing slates,” according to a summary of the bill. Of course, if a governor went rogue and refused to recognize the will of the state's voters, and submitted electors to Congress who did not represent the popular-vote total, that could still create a crisis. ... Seligman began studying the ECA in 2016, after Trump said during the presidential...

The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously rejected Mississippi’s claim against Tennessee for using too much of its groundwater. In this case, Mississippi claimed Tennessee should have prevented Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division from pumping groundwater from the Memphis Sand Aquifer over the state line. It argued that Tennessee’s “knowing, intentional, and forcible pumping of groundwater” violated Mississippi’s sovereignty and constitutes a wrongful taking of the state’s “most valuable natural resource.” All nine justices, however, disagreed.... ...Roberts seemed particularly annoyed by Mississippi’s argument, pointing out that, “Mississippi claims an absolute ‘ownership’ right to all groundwater beneath its surface—even...

In a much-awaited decision, the Supreme Court held on Thursday in a 5-4 decision that partisan gerrymandering is a political question beyond the reach of the federal courts. This should come as no surprise, since it’s the same conclusion the court reached the last time this issue was before it in 2004 in a case out of Pennsylvania, Vieth v. Jubelirer. This time, plaintiffs in both Maryland and North Carolina challenged congressional redistricting maps, claiming they discriminated against Republicans in Maryland and Democrats in North Carolina. They argued that such partisan redistricting (i.e. engaging in politics when drawing legislative district...

See link for opinion which is void of good-faith constitutionally-based reasoning.

To recover their political freedom from an increasingly despotic and totalitarian federal government, the American People MUST recover their only legal bulwark of freedom against federal tyranny: the U.S. Constitution as written and originally understood and intended. The people must once again establish the Rule of Law, the key to political freedom, by reinstating the Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land and the Ruler over the federal government. To do this, the average American must familiarize himself with the Constitution and understand how it mainly limits the federal government. Below is a rough outline of the possible order...

The Senate voted 77-19 Monday to advance a short-term government spending bill, narrowing the chances of a federal shutdown days before Wednesday’s deadline. The Senate’s continuing resolution leaves intact taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, shelving a fight that conservatives wanted Republican leadership to wage with President Barack Obama. Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider, is under scrutiny following a series of undercover videos. With the Senate’s vote Monday, Congress now has two days to finalize a spending agreement for Obama to avoid a shutdown. The spending measure, which funds the government through Dec. 11, is likely to sail through the...

The California State Assembly passed a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide on Wednesday. According to a report by Reuters, the bill is likely to be approved by the state Senate, but Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., has not made his position on the bill known. The bill, ABX2-15, requires a patient seeking life-ending drugs to make a series of “oral and written requests for an aid-in-dying drug.” It stipulates that the patient must be physically capable of administering the drug him- or herself, and that the physician be provided “immunity” from assisting in the preparation of the drug and “civil or...

Chief Justice John Roberts said Wednesday what has long been known but seldom spoken. During the third and final day of Supreme Court hearings on whether the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is unconstitutional, Roberts said states have been compromising their sovereignty for decades through increased reliance on the federal government for money and accompanying directions on the governance of state affairs. "It seems to me that they have compromised their status as independent sovereigns because they are so dependent on what the federal government has done," the chief justice said during Wednesday's nearly three hours of...

The other day our sister newspaper, the Gloucester County Times, reported on a raid at a fraternity house at Rowan University where — get ready for a shock — some college kids were drinking. About 100 of the kids were underage and will face charges. Believe it or not, that incident has its roots in the same problem that led to the controversy over the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. That problem lies in the way the federal government distributes highway funding: poorly. It’s obvious in the case of the bridge that would have connected the city of Ketchikan,...

SEC. 376. FEDERAL AND STATE IMMUNITY. (a) Abrogation of State Immunity- A State shall not be immune under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution from a suit brought in a Federal court of competent jurisdiction for a violation of this Act. (b) Waiver of State Immunity- (1) IN GENERAL- (A) WAIVER- A State's receipt or use of Federal financial assistance for any program or activity of a State shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution or otherwise, to a suit brought by an employee or applicant for employment of that program or activity...

Today, the Virginia House of Delegates overwhelmingly passed House Bill 1438 (HB1438), the Intrastate Commerce Act. The bill, “Provides that all goods produced or manufactured within the Commonwealth, when such goods are held, retained, or maintained in the Commonwealth, shall not be subject to federal law, federal regulation, or the constitutional power of the United States Congress to regulate interstate commerce.” The vote was 65-33. For decades, using a tortured definition of “interstate commerce,” Congress has claimed the authority to regulate, control, ban, or mandate virtually everything – from wheat grown on one’s own land for personal consumption, to weed...

Pelosi's CLEAR Act adds billions in new taxes, a federal takeover of a state's authority to issue pertinent permits within their state, and builds a $500 million annually, slush fund for the Interior Secretary. That slush fund is provided by $22 billion in new taxes over ten years, which settles at $3 billion-per-year after the ten years. The vote is expected Friday. Pelosi has also refused to allow an independent, bipartisan investigation into the BP oil spill - and according to sources this move is to protect Obama.

States’ rights are in the air, along with a renewed focus on the US Constitution, and The Tenth Amendment Center will hold a summit to inform the public how to “stop federal mandates at the state border.” The Florida Tenth Amendment Summit will be held in Orlando at the Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate on 10-10-10—there’s a nice touch of marketing savvy in the selection of that date. An announcement from TAC pointed out momentum in the states’ rights movement as Virginia, Utah, Idaho and others fight Obamacare. Occupying the top media narrative right now is Arizona’s effort to deal...

The Senate is moving closer to passing legislation that would require states to grant public-safety employees, including police, firefighters and emergency medical workers, the right to collectively bargain over hours and wages. The bill, known as the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, would mainly affect about 20 states that don't grant collective-bargaining rights statewide for public-safety workers or that prohibit such bargaining. State and municipal associations, as well as business groups, oppose it, saying it will lead to higher labor costs and taxes, at a time of budget deficits. The bill, backed by at least six Republicans in the Senate,...

Laying in bed unable to sleep last night, my mind drifted to the problem of too much federal power in the country today. Well, the federal government is able to exercise its excessive power in part due to its ability to compel the states to enact certain laws by withholding or restricting federal funding if the states enact laws that do not comply with federal “guidelines”. The primary examples I thought of were the mandatory drinking age of 21 and the required drunk driving BAC of .08. If I am not mistaken, if a state does not follow those guidelines,...

New Hampshire is considering a firearms freedom bill akin to those being considered in other states and already enacted in Montana and Tennessee, but with this provision added (this paragraph mine, not from article): "Any official, agent, or employee of the government of the United States, or employee of a corporation providing services to the government of the United States that enforces or attempts to enforce a act, order, law, statute, rule or regulation of the government of the United States upon a personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in New Hampshire and...

The Montana Firearm Freedom Act was signed into law in October of this year. Here is a recent update: http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=11610180. So how does this apply to Texas right now and in the near future?One of the strategic goals of the 10th amendment movement is the passage of a firearms bill in as many states as possible. The “Firearm Freedom Act” bills state that firearms manufactured in a state that are not sold or transferred across state lines are not subject to federal gun laws. In general, federal guns laws are based on the “commerce” clause in the Constitution. This means...

This summer, legislators from several states met to discuss the steps needed to restore our Constitutional Republic. The federal government has ignored the many state sovereignty resolutions from 2009 notifying it to cease and desist its current and continued overreach. The group decided it was time to actively counter the tyranny emanating from Washington D.C. From those discussions it became clear three things needed to happen. 1. State Legislatures need to pass 10 key pieces of legislation “with teeth” to put the federal government back in its place. 2. The people must pass the legislation through the Initiative process if...

Perry has seemingly begun to build a case of grievances against the federal government. His primary points: -Current administration is “hell-bent” on socialism Washington is now actively punishing Texas through it policies -Health Care Bill would eat up Texas’ $9 billion rainy day fund in 1.5 years -Cap and Trade would cap the entire southern economy Texas may have to reassert 10th amendment protections I will not pretend to know whether Perry is sincere or if this is simply positioning himself for the upcoming primaries. But that’s not the point… certainly these statements indicate the mood of many of the...

In 2006, long before there was an Obama administra tion determined to impose a command-and-control federal health-care system, a young orthopedic surgeon walked into the Goldwater Institute here with an idea. The institute, America's most potent advocate of limited government, embraced Eric Novack's idea for protecting Arizonans from health-care coercion. In 2008, Arizonans voted on Novack's proposed amendment to the state's Constitution: "No law shall be passed that restricts a person's freedom of choice of private health-care systems or private plans of any type. No law shall interfere with a person's or entity's right to pay directly for lawful medical...