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2009 December 11
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"Where the meaning of the Constitution is clear and unambiguous,
there can be no resort to construction to attribute to the founders
a purpose or intent not manifest in its letter." |
"An unconstitutional act is not law; it confers no rights;
it imposes no duties; affords no protection; it creates no office;
it is in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it had never been passed." |
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2009 December 10
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"Democracy arose from men thinking
that if they are equal in any respect
they are equal in all respects." |
"The right of a citizen to bear arms, in lawful defense of himself or the State, is absolute. He does not derive it from the State government. It is one of the "high powers" delegated directly to the citizen, and is excepted out of the general powers of government.' A law cannot be passed to infringe upon or impair it, because it is above the law, and independent of the lawmaking power." |
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2009 December 09
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"No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law,
and no courts are bound to enforce it." |
"If the legislature clearly misinterprets a Constitutional provision,
the frequent repetition of the wrong will not create a right." |
"The three aims of the tyrant are, one, the humiliation of his subjects; he knows that a mean-spirited man will not conspire against anybody; two, the creation of mistrust among them; for a tyrant is not to be overthrown until men begin to have confidence in one another -- and this is the reason why tyrants are at war with the good; they are under the idea that their power is endangered by them, not only because they will not be ruled despotically, but also because they are too loyal to one another and to other men, and do not inform against one another or against other men -- three, the tyrant desires that all his subjects shall be incapable of action, for no one attempts what is impossible and they will not attempt to overthrow a tyranny if they are powerless." |
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2009 December 08
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"Under our form of government, the legislature is not supreme ... like other departments of government, it can only exercise such powers as have been delegated to it, and when it steps beyond that boundary, its acts, like those of the most humble magistrate in the state who transcends his jurisdiction, are utterly void." |
"A Fatal Tendency of Mankind. Self-preservation and self-development are common aspirations among all people. And if everyone enjoyed the unrestricted use of his faculties and the free disposition of the fruits of his labor, social progress would be ceaseless, uninterrupted, and unfailing. But there is also another tendency that is common among people. When they can, they wish to live and prosper at the expense of others. This is no rash accusation. Nor does it come from a gloomy and uncharitable spirit. The annals of history bear witness to the truth of it: the incessant wars, mass migrations, religious persecutions, universal slavery, dishonesty in commerce, and monopolies. This fatal desire has its origin in the very nature of man -- in that primitive, universal, and insuppressible instinct that impels him to satisfy his desires with the least possible pain." |
"When the representative body have lost the confidence of their constituents, when they have notoriously made sale of their most valuable rights, when they have assumed to themselves powers which the people never put into their hands, then indeed their continuing in office becomes dangerous to the State, and calls for an exercise of the power of dissolution." |
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2009 December 07
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"We create an environment where it is alright to hate, to steal, to cheat,
and to lie if we dress it up with symbols of respectability, dignity and love." |
"Are right and wrong convertible terms,
dependant upon popular opinion?" |
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