By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but… Assemblywomen Michele Fiore has introduced AB 408 in an attempt to claim sovereignty for the State of Nevada.
There are those who would undermine this effort by tying it to the Bundy issue. This, folks, is not an issue of a rancher who is in dispute with the BLM. This is an issue of whether the state of Nevada is a state, with equal standing with other states of the Union. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution states: “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 amendment limits the scope of Federal power to those enumerated in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution.
These thoughts sent me to the Constitution and Article I to review the enumerated powers of the Federal Government. Section 8 very clearly spells out what power Congress has. Let me review Article I Section 8 for you and you can determine for yourself if the Federal Government has overstepped its bounds. I have paraphrased the powers as listed but I do not believe I have changed their meaning.
The first stated power allows the Federal Government to set taxes, uniform duties, imposts and excises throughout the United States.
The federal government has the power to borrow money.
The federal government has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes.
The federal government has power to establish uniform rules of naturalization is reserved for the federal government. This is the provision that has caused the confusion in Arizona. It is not argued by the State that the federal government does not have the power to set the laws on naturalization. The problem is that the federal government has set the laws but refuses to enforce them. This refusal of the BLM to follow federal law is the bases for the dispute over grazing rights in Nevada.
Uniform laws of bankruptcies throughout the United States is to be set by the federal government.
The federal government has the sole power to coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures. Interestingly enough, the Federal Government has turned the power to regulate money over to the Federal Reserve, which is not a governmental agency.
The federal government has the power to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States.
The federal government has the power to establish Post Offices and post roads. The Federal Government has privatize the Post Office. How has that worked out?
The federal government has the power to grant copyrights and patents.
It has the power to set up a federal court system to support the Supreme Court. 1
The federal government can define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations.
The power to declare war, grant Letters of Marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water is reserved for the federal government.
The power to raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money for that use shall be for a longer term than two years.
They must provide for and maintain a Navy.
The federal government must regulate the land and naval Forces.
The calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions is a power of the federal government.
They are required to provide organization, arms, discipline and governing such part of the militia as may be employed in the service of the United States.
The federal government is the agency designated to govern Washington, D.C.
The federal government has the power to be exercised over all military establishments, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other Federal Buildings.
And finally, it falls to the federal government to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying out their powers.
All federal legislation must fall in one of these categories or it is un-Constitutional.
I am at a loss to see where the federal government has the power to control over 80 percent of any state. I do not see National Parks or Wilderness Areas listed here either.
No one asked me but… John Kerry, Obama’s Secretary of State, is a Vietnam Veteran who was awarded three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star, and a Bronze Star. Even so, I wonder about his fitness to fill the role of Secretary of State. I am not sure that the Secretary of State should be a person who characterizes the American soldier as a war criminal.
On April 22, 1971, Kerry, a member of the United States Navy Reserve, holding the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, testified before Congress wearing his medals and service ribbons on green fatigues. I would suppose it is of little matter that he was out of uniform and was violating military dress code by wearing his medals and service ribbons on fatigues. A greater outrage was that during this testimony, he characterized the American fighting man as a rapist, child killer, and serial violator of the Geneva Convention.
The day after this testimony, Kerry participated in an anti-war demonstration in which he and other veterans threw their medals and ribbons on the steps of the United States Capitol.
Do not get me wrong. I believe any man has a right to demonstrate his displeasure of any governmental activities but I also believe this should eliminate him from being Secretary of State.
I find it interesting that the Obama administration appointed a self-admitted war criminal. On NBC’s Meet The Press in 1971, Kerry was asked whether he had personally committed atrocities in Vietnam. He responded: “… I would have to say that, yes,…”
I can understand how this Jane Fonda-type philosophy would qualify Mr. Kerry to be a Senator from the State of Massachusetts. However, being a self-confessed war criminal would certainly hamper him in his dealings with the other countries.
Thought of the week….With 84.5% of its lands controlled by the Federal Government, what else can Nevada do but focus on casinos and tourism or become a repository for nuclear waste?
–Samuel Mikslaski
