The Living Constitution

Every office and department has its despotism, founded upon custom and usage. Every place has its Bastille, and every Bastille its despot.
- Thomas Paine

This is a quote from the book The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine. He is talking of the French Revolution and how King Louis XVI was described as a mild and lawful monarch. He states how the revolution was aimed not at the King but against the despotic principles of the government itself. We no longer face a tyranny of kings but a tyranny of constitutional interpretation. I am apprehensive to make use of words such as despotism and tyranny, but this is what we are up against. Five individuals effectively removed the term 'for public use" from the fifth amendment with the Kelo vs. New London Decision. Now every city council in the country needs to only find the most superficial excuse to meet the standard of public use. The bottom line is that if the constitution can mean anything than it means nothing.

Government Grants

18. But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19. Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20. and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21. "Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." 22. When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

-Matthew 22 (NIV)


I ran the water system for Cresson ,TX after the owner sold it to the city. It was way below standard and they were attempting to get a grant to repair it. What stood out to me the most was the fact that they were penalized for having no debt. This floored me. A responsible city council who kept taxes low by keeping spending low enough to have no debt was penelazed while a city 10 miles up the road was rewarded for spending money they didnt even have. This is from page 179 of the 240 page budget.

"The following pages detail the future annual principal and interest requirements for the City’s outstanding debt obligations as of October 1, 2006. Through 2024, the City’s General Obligation debt has as total of $34,149,000 in principal to retire and $14,474,339 in interest payments."
-2007-2008 Final Budget for Granbury, TX.


That totals $48,623,339 for a city with a population of around 6,000. That is about $8,100 per person. But you gotta spend money to make money right? That $48 million will increase the chances of that free grant money getting handed out.

This is the way our country has been running for decades. From the individual to the Highest levels of government, irresponsible spending is rewarded, and responsible investment is penalized. It must be stopped. This means government grants, individual welfare, and corporate welfare should be stopped immediately.

"If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.... "
-Thomas Edison

This is my new favorite quote. I saw it on a postcard from the college I attended. They wanted me to send some money. I've never been a big fan of giving money to causes. It is so easy to misappropriate. I prefer giving my time. You always know the good that comes from giving your time. Thats the help that I need. I don't want your money. I want your time. I want you to tell your friends about me. I want you to tell the newspapers about me. Tell me of anything that I may have missed, such as political websites, or possible speaking engagements. Alone I could astound myself, together we can astound ALL OF TEXAS!!!