Why The U. S. Constitution Matters

We are in the midst of a major health crisis. We need to be intelligent in handling this crisis. However, we also need to remember that our Constitution applies in ALL situations–crisis or not. Unfortunately some of our elected leaders have forgotten that.

The Federalist posted an article today about some of our elected leaders who have chosen to ignore the Constitution in dealing with the coronavirus.

The article reports:

The most egregious example of this outpouring of authoritarianism was an attempt by Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Greg Fischer to ban drive-in church services on Easter. On Holy Thursday, one day before Christians were to begin their most important religious celebrations of the year, Fischer declared that drive-in Easter services would be illegal.

To remove all doubt about his seriousness, he also threatened arrest and criminal penalties for anyone who dared violate his order, and in an Orwellian twist, invited people to snitch on their fellow citizens. Fischer justified this by saying it was “to save lives.”

Thankfully, a federal judge made short work of the mayor’s idiotic power-grab, issuing a temporary restraining order against the city of Louisville on Saturday, writing so as to remove all doubt, “The Mayor’s decision is stunning. And it is, ‘beyond all reason,’ unconstitutional.”

There are other examples of this overreach:

…That’s a good start, but the targeting of churches, while undoubtedly the most offensive overreach by state and local governments, is hardly the only instance of government gone wild. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has taken it upon herself to declare what items are and are not “essential,” dictating to grocery stores what they can and cannot sell as part of a sweeping order issued Friday.

Among the nonessential, and therefore banned, items are fruit and vegetable plants and seeds. Never mind that growing fruits and vegetables at home right now would help maintain social distancing during the pandemic, the governor has spoken and her word is law. (Lottery tickets, on the other hand, are still permitted.)

Beyond the fruit and vegetable ban, the governor’s order is an object lesson in the absurdity and inconsistency of arbitrary power and rule by fiat. Michiganders are banned from traveling “between residences” if they own a cottage or a summer home, but the ban only applies to Michigan residents, so an out-of-stater with a cottage in the Upper Peninsula could presumably still visit. The ban also still allows travel between states, so if a Michigander has a cottage in Wisconsin or Ohio, he can travel without fear of being arrested or fined by state police.

The article concludes:

Why did Whitmer tailor her order this way? Probably because she knows she has no authority to ban travel between states, or issue orders to Americans generally—no more than a mayor has the authority to shut down drive-in Easter services in his city.

That these officials need to be reminded of that, and in some cases restrained by federal judges, bodes very ill for America. Now more than ever, we need leaders who don’t just care about protecting us from the pandemic, but also care about preserving liberty in a time of crisis.

When we vote in November, we need to remember who was willing to abide by the Constitution and who used the coronavirus as an excuse for a power trip.

Thank You To The Police Who Protect Us

This is not a hard news story, but I stumbled across this picture on Fox News and think it is adorable:

policemanandLittleGirlThis is the story:

On Sunday March 27, 2016, just after 4:00 PM Traffic Officer Erik Castillo was patrolling Roeding Park in Southwest Fresno as part of the Easter Sunday Safe Park Operation. He noticed a young princess driving her convertible sports car on the grass. Officer Castillo conducted a pretend traffic stop and contacted the princess, later identified as one year old Avery of Fresno. Officer Castillo decided to issue Avery a Junior Motor Officer Sticky Badge instead of a citation and wished her a Happy Easter.

 

How To Drain The Fun Out Of A Fun Event

CNS News is reporting today that the White House Easter Egg Roll has been turned into a “Let’s Move! Social.” Good grief.

The article reports:

An e-mail from the “Let’s Move!” campaign says the Easter Egg Roll has been turned into a “Let’s Move! Social”:

“We’re excited to announce that our next White House Social will be a Let’s Move! Social here, at the White House. On Monday, April 1st, 2013, the First Family will host the 135th annual White House Easter Egg Roll with the theme ‘Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!'”

The First Lady’s “followers” will be there to preach to kids about their eating habits:

“We are inviting Let’s Move! followers on Twitter and Facebook and their children, ages 5 – 13, to join the fun on the South Lawn and of course to share their experience with their followers!”

Easter itself is not a Christian holiday–it is a pagan holiday, so I can’t accuse the White House of messing with Christianity. However, I can accuse them of messing with tradition. To me, the arrogance here is to think that what they are doing is so important that they are going to preempt a tradition to preach to innocent young children who only came to roll Easter eggs on the White House lawn.

Sometimes it is just amazing to see how self-important our current first family is.

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