Now if we can just enforce it, that would be great.

The LP of San Juan County (NM) is observing Bill of Rights Day tonight with a 4-speaker program and our annual firearms raffle. Our speakers are a firearms instuctor, our founding member, a Republican state senator, and an editor of our daily newspaper. We've been selling chances on two firearms all year, and the drawing will be tonight. This funds our county party for a whole year. And last year, we scored a great front page photo of our county chairman speaking in front of the flag. It's been a good event for us.

I hope the new LNC Region 4 representative will reflect on the Bill of Rights and find within its 10th Amendment and a common sense interpretation of the Constitution's commerce clause the courage he needs to renounce the War on Drugs, as any leader of the Libertarian Party should. This particular government program has had a corrosive effect on government, and more than anything else prior to 9/11 and the War on Terror, weakened the protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, "Mr. Barr, tear down this WOD!"

They say only Nixon could go to China. Maybe only Barr can get us Peace With Honor in the Drug War. We'll see.

Hurray! Just saw the news that Bob Barr has switched to the Libertatian Party. What a great moment.

The Bill of Rights has George Bush's footprints all over it.

I think that it is high time that we remind people about what is NOT in the Bill of Rights;

1) You do not have the right to not be offended
2) Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion

The list could be readily added to, but these are the two that annoy me the most

jonny522

Joseph,

What a great idea! I have been wanting to do a gun raffle in my county as well. May I ask how much you raised this year?

Most of the objectionable parts of the Patriot Act were already allowed in the case of drug investigations. The Supreme Court has basically said that the bill of rights doesn't apply when it comes to fighting drugs.
You can have your property confiscated without due process of law by the IRS. The scope of "probable cause" keeps getting wider and wider because the war is unwinnable. So in desparate attempts to prevent people from exercising choice over their own bodies (where are all the abortion advocates on this one?) the feds just trashed the bill of rights.
I would contend that this is worse than the Patriot Act. If the government is going to trample on someone's rights I'd prefer it by Achmed the terrorist rather than Bill the dope dealer.
Of course it would be great if the government would leave all of us our rights but I might as well wish for a unicorn for Christmas.
ETH3 you're right about people making up new rights that don't exist. What's funny is those are the same people that most want to trample on rights explicitly stated in the constitution (2nd Ammendment anybody?).
There is no clause stating the overused "separation of church and state" it simply says "CONGRESS shall make no law respecting" freedom of religion. Basically the feds should stay out.
If a state wants to make a law they can. As a libertarian I would fight most laws of that nature but it isn't unconstitutional.

No freedom from religion? Is it OK for gov't to take my tax money and use it to practice a religion I'm opposed to? Are you willing to force me to comply with edicts that are primarily religious in nature? Just wondering what you mean here.

I meant only that under the wording in the bill of rights it is only the federal government that is prohibited from doing so.
I believe ETH3 meant by "no freedom from religion" that you can't sue everybody because of a Christmas pageant or a church or school doing certain things of a religious nature.
There are many ACLU extremists who are trying to prevent people from practicing their religion anywhere but inside their home.
We have many local laws here in Michigan that are religious in nature (and I am against most of them).
For instance you cannot purchase liquor within a certain distance of a church. You cannot buy any alcohol until noon on Sundays (You're supposed to be in church until then.)
Also laws that state you can't sell alcohol between 2a.m. and 7a.m. (I'm not 100% that this is religious in nature, but it is interfering at best.)
Sorry about all the references to alcohol but those are the main ones that come to mind.
I personally would like to see these laws abolished on libertarian grounds. I would not support the state government from taking your money and using it to fund a religion. I was simply stating that it is not unconstitutional.
There are many things that are constitutional that I oppose. I just wouldn't run to the Supreme Court to try and eliminate them if they were adopted constitutionally.

John B, you are absolutely right that the liquor laws should be repealed and that the ACLU and other groups are ironically opposing freedom of religious acts or displays in the name of separation of church and state. It seems that any building or insitution, even public ones should be able to have religious displays or events, prayers, etc within their walls as long as A) they are not mandatory and B) they are not publicly funded. Example: if someone wants to donate a Ten Commandments plaque to a courthouse who is to stop them? It's certainly a "law" history display and does not support a religion over another.

Just curious, what part of the constitution do you oppose? And, why? I'm opposed to the income tax amendment personally.