Tag: Census

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.

A Rant about the Constitution

Some people in Congress — by which I mean Republicans — have been ranting about how the President can’t do this or can’t do that because it’s unconstitutional (even though those accursed commie libruls can point to Republican presidents who have done the exact same thing.

Well guess what? I can point to at least two things that Republicans want to destroy that are explicitly required by the Constitution. The Post Office is mandated under Article I, section 8, and the Census by Article I, section 1.

So the next time some right wing blowhard tells you how the President is shredding the Constitution, remind him to read the freaking document. The NSA, TSA, CIA, FBI, DEA, FISA, IRS, INS, and a whole lot of other government entities they couldn’t imagine doing without aren’t there, but the Post Office and the Census are specifically mentioned in the first freaking article of the Constitution. Stuff that in your conservative pipe and smoke away.

And then maybe you can shift the conversation to how the government could create some jobs by making sure our bridges don’t fall down.

In Closing: warms the heart, and other bits too; I am not really sure what to say about Ferguson and police killing with impunity anymore; I think I’ve brought up a couple of these tips before; and practice. I had some things I wanted to say about Uber, and that might yet happen.

I don’t think Rudolph would approve

 

Personally, I don’t know whether Sniper Rifle Santa is creepier than Football Hero Santa, but it’s got to be close.

In closing: So much for Republican hating on Romney; screw the TSA, everyone’s driving; on domestic oil; flat population growth; picky!; a fun game.

Oh Noes, BE AFRAID!!!1!

So as I was in the midst of my morning newscrawl, I came across the headline “Report: Terrorists may poison US food supply.” Well, it turns out that the DHS knew about “a possible credible terrorism plot that targets food products in the restaurant and hotel industry, though the threat is non-specific about time and location for the plot.” And truth be told the Jerusalem Post reports that “Al Qaida planned to poison US hotel buffets, salad bars.”

Nevertheless, be afraid! The Evil Terrorists are wanting to poison your food!!

Of course it seems obvious to me that if we gave a damn about food security and really thought terrorism from foreign terrorist organizations was a risk, the first thing we would do is make sure that illegal immigrants are not harvesting and processing our food! But no, even many latte liberals think we somehow need underpaid, undocumented workers to get food from the farm to our plates.

In Closing: Amen; maps; food stamps; 308.7M; student loan debt; Dave Johnson is on a roll; CEOs; temps; and WTF.