Can Anyone Use 50 Bucks?

Check this out!

The Judicial Council of California, the Constitutional Rights Foundation and the California Parent, Teachers Associaiton offer a $50 prize for the student winner of their nationwide 3rd Annual First Amendment Cartoon Contest
[INSERT applause and screams of delight here].


Learn more and obtain rules and giudelines at their website
http://www.courtsed.org/cartoon_contest.htm

• THEME: First Amendment Principles - specifically on the "Right to Peaceably Assemble & Right to Petition for a Redress of Grievances"

• DEADLINE: March 16, 2012

Since I have THE most talented class ever - I think someone among us will win!


Be creative - be informative - be artistic.
And give me a loan when you win, will ya'?

GUEST SPEAKER: Deb Wilkey - Kootenai County Coroner

Hey gang,


Does anyone watch NCIS? Or are you into zombie movies?


Personally, I don't get it....but...well...there's actually a very real aspect in our society about dealing with,....well....the deceased...


We have a visitor coming a week from Thursday, February 2nd - our County Coroner, 
Deb Wilkey.
I want you to provide her with some solid, informative questions, like we did with the Lt. Governor - so I need you to first read the following two website entries and come with THREE (that's right 3) questions for Mrs. Wilkey.

• http://www.kcgov.us/departments/coroner/

• http://www.orato.com/health-science/dr-g-medical-examiner - you'll REALLY love this one!

Read these website entries FIRST then come with your three questions - due on Tuesday!

And let's not be grave about this. I want you to dig into this subject, and be lively about it.

OK enough of that. Sorry.

So....do we still need a MILITIA?

MILITIAS...according to that pesky document the Bill of Rights, "We the people..." may maintain a MILITIA (Second Amendment).

But...what does that mean in present day contexts?

FIRST - what is a MILITIA? (Here's one definition that may help)

The discussion of maintaining MILITIAs usually revolves around citizen gun ownership, in general.

May we still carry around weapons haphazardly without any protection from gun-toating criminals who may be using the Second Amendment right to harm society? Or should we all just be able to have weapons without ANY government involvement?

In 1939, the question was taken to the Supreme Court. Jack Miller and Frank Layton were arrested in 1938 for carrying an unregistered sawed-off shotgun across state lines. In 1934, Congress, in an effort to crack down on the machine guns and sawed-off shotguns commonly used by notorious gangsters like Al Capone, had passed the National Firearms Act, which imposed a prohibitively high tax on weapons' sale. Miller and Layton were arrested for carrying a gun that did not bear a stamp certifying that the tax had been paid. The case made its way to the Supreme Court when a lower court accepted the defendants' argument that the National Firearms Act violated their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Here's the case, if you want to read it.

There are laws which channel and restrict gun ownership now to help protect citizens from dangerous, violent criminals. See http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/html/amdt2.html.

Do you want to have anyone wielding guns in department stores, restaurants or the post office without ANY supervision? Or do we need any supervision?

Oh, by the way - it may help you to know that according to current military law, according to the United States Law Code (the "rules of common law" that the Seventh Amendment speaks about), militias, now, are considered members of the NATIONAL GUARD. See Cornwell's University of Law website entry.

So what do we do with MILITIAS today?

Here's an article where the author thinks the Second Amendment is obsolete and needs to be thrown out entirely - http://sundial.csun.edu/2010/12/do-we-still-need-the-second-amendment/

Should we rewrite the Second Amendment? 

Is the portion of the Second Amendment (maintain a militia) obsolete and out of touch with modern-day military service and National Guards?

Should we just rewrite that portion dealing with the obsolete militia system? 

Or toss it out entirely?

Is it "time for the second amendment to go?" 

What do you think?

Send me an email after you have read this entry - tell me what you think - yes, for extra credit.

FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDES!!!

Hey gang,


In case you lost your study guide for Thursday's FINAL (yes....that's right it's THIS THURSDAY, January 19th...AAAAAUAUGH!!!), I'm providing the Study Guide here - FINAL STUDY GUIDE.


MAKE SURE YOU KNOW how our Founding Fathers used all the information we have studied (from Hamurrabi to Aristotle to John Locke to Thomas Paine, etc.)...how our Founding Fathers used all of these influential people's ideas and writings to provide us the fantastic documents of liberty we have in America (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights).


ALSO you may want to review the first 22 Presidents of the country (including their dates of administration and their political affiliation).


OH...and it may help to go over your VOCABULARY (I'm linking a LIST of all the terms you should know for this semester).


As always....PRAY...STUDY...then get some rest...
...you'll do fine.


I have no doubt with you guys. God has blessed me with the BEST class of all!


Mr. J.

Bill of Rights Rap - these guys ROCK! Literally!

Hey gang,

Click the image to open the video 

or DOWNLOAD a copy (the file is a 25.7 MB .mp4 - give it time to download)

Always on the lookout for tools to help you learn this stuff, I found a couple of rappers that (I think) are EXCELLENT! They are two guys, Jeff and Scott, who graduated from Providence College, Rhode Island, and wanted to help young minds (like yours) learn about our great country and original documents of liberty.


Here's a rap they put together on the Bill of Rights  that may help you remember them. You can download it here or from directly from their website - BILL OF RIGHTS.


If you want to learn more about these two guys, check them out at Smart Songs!


I hope this helps you learn....oh, and you can tell your parents you really ARE studying when you have this rockin' on your iPods!

EXCELLENT ARTICLE - and another way for more EXTRA CREDIT!

Hillsdale College puts out a free newsletter, Imprimis, with articles that are "my-jaw-drops-into-my-lap-I'm-so-amazed-that-there-are-still-people-who-have-such-reverence-for-the-Founding-Fathers'-principles-it-makes-me-drool" kind of articles!

Some of them are a bit technical - but often there are some that just literally blow my stinkin' mind!

Here's one I really, REALLY recommend you read - http://www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis/archive/issue.asp?year=2011&month=12 (or if you prefer a .pdf copy, download it here - http://www.hillsdale.edu/hctools/ImprimisTool/archives/2011_12_Imprimis.pdf)

AND if you read it, I'll give you more extra credit!

Email me if you read the article and answer this one question for credit - who considered the doctrines of "limited government" in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution "obsolete"?

God bless your day, my friends.

Mr. J.

Bill of Rights - Class Handouts

Just in case you need a handout 'cause your copy was burned up when you knocked your old Christmas Tree into the fireplace while playing indoor football and it accidentally caught on fire and then it got all wet when you tried to put it out causing a horrible stain on the carpet and all over your kitty's fur and your parents were so mad because you aren't supposed to play in the living room.......

....um...now, where was I?....

...Oh yeah! Here's come copies of class handouts on the Bill of Rights for you to download:

• Anti-Federalist: George Mason's Objections to the Constitution
• Anti-Federalist: The Federalist Farmer I

You already have a copy of the Bill of Rights in your pocket Constitution. But in case you want a digital copy:

• The Bill of Rights

More handouts will follow on this blog entry.

So keep looking for them...and stop playing football in the house! Sigh.

You...you mean....some Founding Fathers DID NOT WANT the BILL OF RIGHTS????

Did you know...that the FEDERALIST Founding Fathers in our early history actually feared the Bill of Rights?

Whoa....wait a minute. Who in their right mind would be opposed to such a fundamental, protecting document?

Oh, just a bunch of nobodies....like James Madison....Alexander Hamilton...James Wilson....to mention a few.

Why?

Many felt the CONSTITUTION was sufficient and any document listing fundamental human rights was unnecessary and redundant. Alexander Hamilton suggested that "Bills of Rights are in their origins stipulations between KINGS and their SUBJECTS....abridgments of prerogatives in favor of privilege, reservation of rights not surrendered to the Prince, such as the Magna Carte" (Federalist Paper #84) -- and since we do not have such royal relations between our government ("WE the people...") and our citizens, we do not need such "stipulations between KINGS and their SUBJECTS". Some Founding Fathers even considered the Bill of Rights "Unnecessary and DANGEROUS"! "DANGEROUS" how? The fear was the Bill of Rights could contain exceptions not granted by the "Supreme Law of the Land" (the Constitution) to protect us from government - BUT since our government is made of US ("WE the people...") - why would we need a document to protect us from ourselves? James Wilson also suggested how could anyone enumerate ALL the rights of mankind? And what if we missed one - is it therefore no longer a right just because it did not make it on our "list"? There was also the fear that a Bill of Rights would imply that a national government could do ANYTHING it wished, just as long as it followed the "list".

Wow, even in our nation's foundation we did not always agree.....but could you imagine our history without this vital decree?


Send me an email after you have read this entry for credit.