Madness

[Rich]

Mind you life is cheap in the States
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7474924.stm

 

[Alc]

Loved the logic of the security guard's argument that "if he was allowed to have a handgun at work, he also had a constitutional right to have one at home." Whatever the merits of the rest of his case, if the guy genuinely said that, he shouldn't be trusted with a pointed stick, never mind a gun. If you use something at work, you're automatically allowed to have it at home, too? B*llocks!

So doctors can privately stock up on medical equipment and drugs?
How about soldiers? They can bring home munitions, chemical weapons, etc can they?
People who work in demolition are permitted to keep personal stashes of C4?

 

[Rich]

So doctors can privately stock up on medical equipment and drugs?
How about soldiers? They can bring home munitions, chemical weapons, etc can they?
People who work in demolition are permitted to keep personal stashes of C4?

Apparently it would depend on their constitution

 

[redneckgeek]

This is GREAT news. The supreme court has affirmed our right to defend ourselves - even from the government. Although a 5-4 decision is downright scary. It would have been interesting (for lack of a better word) to see what would be going on right now had the decision gone the other way.

 

[Rich]

This is GREAT news. The supreme court has affirmed our right to defend ourselves - even from the government. Although a 5-4 decision is downright scary. It would have been interesting (for lack of a better word) to see what would be going on right now had the decision gone the other way.

Pity you didn't take up arms against Bush eh!

 

[redneckgeek]

I'm willing to take up my pitchfork and torch against ALL of them.

 

[Rich]

I'm willing to take up my pitchfork and torch against ALL of them.

So you support anarchy?

 

[redneckgeek]

Nah, that's a bit overboard. I support a MUCH smaller government, as the founding fathers intended.

 

[Rich]

Nah, that's a bit overboard. I support a MUCH smaller government, as the founding fathers intended.

When the founding fathers set it up your population was a great deal smaller

 

[KenHigg]

When the founding fathers set it up your population was a great deal smaller

Imagine how many more of us there would be without the guns -

(Just kiddin )

 

[redneckgeek]

When the founding fathers set it up your population was a great deal smaller

Yes it was. Are you saying that as the population grows, it becomes less able to take care of itself and it requires assistance from the government? At what number of people did it become "necessary" to have a Dept Of _________ (Insert your favorite department here)?

 

[KenHigg]

When you get to be as old as the uk then you get the so-called government baby sitting everything, like signs warning you of the tides - True story. I think they called it a 'cotton wall' society - ?

 

[georgedwilkinson]

Yes it was. Are you saying that as the population grows, it becomes less able to take care of itself and it requires assistance from the government? At what number of people did it become "necessary" to have a Dept Of _________ (Insert your favorite department here)?

Definitely, you need all those departments so people without any skills will have an income. You don't need many more farmers to feed everybody as the population rises. And we generally hate putting people on welfare here. So that means you gotta create more public sector jobs.

 

[redneckgeek]

Definitely, you need all those departments so people without any skills will have an income...

heh... That applies to everyone from your local building inspector all the way up to the president!

 

[Sum Guy]

The primary responsibility of the US Supreme Court is to interpret (sp) the US Constitution (we will not go into the flaws of the actual document). More to the point, is a law passed by any level of government "legal".
The Constitution says Americans have the right to bear arms. Thats that.

BTW this is the same Supreme Court that recently ruled the prisoners held in Cuba have an immediate right to a lawyer. As some of them have been there for five plus years, its about time.

There is no doubt in my mind that as the various elements of the so called "Patriot Act" come before the Supreme Court, they will all be struck down. War or no war, emergency or no emergency, the Constitution comes first.

 

[Rich]

the Constitution comes first.

Isn't it time it was brought into the 21st Century?

 

[georgedwilkinson]

The Constitution says Americans have the right to bear arms. Thats that.

And Americans need their guns. That's how the laid off government workers get even during administrations who think we have to balance the budget by cutting all the unnecessary (sp?) government jobs.

War or no war, emergency or no emergency, the Constitution comes first.

I vaguely recall some ability the President might have to declare "martial law", per the Constitution, suspending rights. I think most people see that as a bad idea because it can suspend all rights and doesn't give a time period of when the rights will be restored or whether additional rights can be taken away (i.e. the right to hold elections).

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law):
"The ability to suspend habeas corpus is often equated with martial law. Article 1, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution states, "The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public Safety may require it."

Sounds like that's the reason the Gitmo prisoner's haven't been "processed", though I admit I'm very fuzzy on the whole situation.

 

[Sum Guy]

Isn't it time it was brought into the 21st Century?

Agreed. but as I stated in my original comment, we won't go into the flaws of the actual doucment.
That is another topic for another forum. Be prepared for extended discussions.

 

[Sum Guy]

Nah, that's a bit overboard. I support a MUCH smaller government, as the founding fathers intended.

When the US was founded it was 13 states with about 1 million people huddled along the Atlantic Ocean. Things have changed somewhat since that time.
Would the US be the country it is today if all of the Founding Father's wishes had been carried out? Not likely. America abondoned isolationism and other aspects of the original concept of the country because it discovered it had to in order to survive.
I think it may be time for a new Constitutional conference. Discard the outmoded concepts of the past such as the right to bear arms. There were legitimate reasons why it was written into the original Constitution but those reasons are long past.
I agree with you that there is more government involvement in the average American's private life then there needs to be, but there is not enough in other areas. For example, the Treasury and Federal Reserve should have stepped in an stopped the sub-prime mortgage situation long before it did. Why do so many Americans still not have Health Insurance? Now there's a "right" that should take priority over guns every time.
Anyway, something to think about.

 

[KenHigg]

The whole idea of the government controlling everything and making it so that the individual does not have to think for themselves or be responsible for anything, like taking away guns and so called state run health care, is to water down the gene pool. Kind of the reverse of what hilter was trying to do. The more irresponsible, lazy people they have the more they, the 'smart' politicians can tax and control everything...

just my humble opinion