Every Government Office and Agency Actually Mentioned in the Constitution

So, this is meant to give some perspective. A lot of the government offices we count on and see as “normal” are created after the fact. A few that are perennial targets are Constitutionally mandated. You are welcome to double check against any copy, but I’m using the version up at the National Archives.

Article I.

Section 1: the Congress, including the House of Representatives and Senate.

Section 2: Representatives, “electors” (now known as voters), and taxes. Regular “enumeration” of citizens (the Census), and a Speaker of the House.

Section 3: Senators, the Vice President, and President Pro Tempore. The President, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Impeachment are also mentioned here, but more on them later.

Section 5: Congressional records. Of course the Founding Fathers never envisioned TV, but C-SPAN is an interesting way of supplementing those records.

Section 6: Ok, nothing new is created here. I just wanted to point out that you can’t arrest a member of Congress on his way to a session unless it’s for “Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace.”

Section 7: Bills and laws.

Section 8: This is a really meaty section on what Congress can do. They create money, regulate commerce and immigration, declare war, make laws, etc. Agencies created here include the Post Office, roads (so mail can be delivered), courts under the Supreme Court, the Navy, and the “Militia.” It’s worth noting that by the time this was written, the Marines were already a well established thing.

Article II.

Section 1: The President and Electoral College are officially created here.

Section 2: The Commander in Chief is also the President.

Section 3: The State of the Union address.

Section 4: Impeachment. Huh, pretty short Article here.

Article III.

Section 1: The Supreme Court and “inferior” courts.

Section 2: “Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls” are mentioned.

Section 3: Treason is a thing.

Article IV.

Section 2: Interstate extradition is a thing.

Section 3: How Baby States Are Made.

Articles V, VI, and VII

Constitutional Amendments are a thing. The National Debt — yes, really. Ratification.

Please note how few things really spring directly from the Constitution. No law enforcement agencies whatsoever: no FBI, Federal Marshals, or anything of the sort. Taxes but no tax agencies. Immigration but no immigration offices. Not a word about any sort of schools or colleges. While the Interstate Highway System or Department of Transportation isn’t mentioned, one can argue that they stem from the postal road system. No political parties.

I hope you have found this interesting reading.

Biden Their Time

Or, “Oh no, say it ain’t Joe”

As I write it seems pretty clear that the Democratic Party is hell-bent on ramming Joe Biden down our collective throats as the “Be Reasonable” candidate. This would prove that they learned absolutely nothing from 2016. There are literally thousands of reasons for millions of people to vote against Joe, however much political experience he has.

Biden’s role in criminal “reform.” Joe was instrumental in passing the 1994 crime bill. You know, the one where the Clintons were refering to “Super-Predators”? It’s also the one that made the United States the leading producer of prison inmates. Even Joe himself is no longer proud of his role in that. At least one opponent calls for repealing it altogether.

Biden’s role in bankruptcy “reform.” Joe actually cast the deciding vote on this one, doing the bidding of his Delaware corporate masters well. This bill made it hard to discharge credit card bills in bankruptcy, and impossible to discharge student loan debt. We have millions of people buried under debt due to these changes. Think they’re lining up to vote for Joe? Think they’re lining up to vote for any status-quo “Be Reasonable” candidate?

Biden’s role in health insurance “reform.” No mistake, I knew that health insurance reform was largely doomed early on, when The Powers That Be decided that they didn’t need any help from the one guy that had seen health insurance from every possible angle and gotten universal health care for every kid under 18 in his home state. But Joe actively tried to undermine contraceptive coverage in Romneycare 2.0 Obamacare.

So yeah, anytime Biden and “reform” come up in one breath, it sure seems like something bad is coming.

Biden and women. Ok, fine let’s say you want to overlook the whole contraceptive thing. If a picture really does say a thousand words, then there are many thousands of words said about Joe Biden having his picture taken with uncomfortable looking women. Dude is so stuck in the past that he still thinks it’s a brother’s job to defend his sister’s honor, or at least “keep the guys away” from her. As if she can’t say “no thanks, not interested” or accept a date on her own. This is not a big step forward for women in America, and non-penis owning Americans know it.

Biden and race. Recently his Freudian slip was showing when he said that poor kids were as smart as “white kids.” Oops, he apologized for saying what he seems to actually believe.

Biden’s continuing Foot In Mouth disease. G7. Two characters, three syllables, he managed to mess that up. Heck, he’s even willing to crack jokes about how he messes stuff up. One progressive source has compiled a list of some of his more choice, uh, statements.

Even Obama says don’t do it. Really, enough said.