My Rant. Senator Stevens, Alaska's AH representatives. My argument for term limits.

[Edwina's Secretary]

What the founding Fathers intended is well documented. The Founding fathers did take into account the world Americans would live in long after they where dead and they wrote provisions for it.

I would like you to show me where the Founding Fathers predicted what the United States would be like in 200 years? Please?

You know, 50 states stretching from ocean to ocean...the end of slavery, the emancipation of women, the Civil War, electricity, telephone, automobiles, trains, planes, two world wars, an increase in population from a few million to 300 million, transformation from agrarian to urban, life expectancy doubled just to name a few. The end of monarchy as they knew it, the end of many of deadly diseases -- small pox, typhoid, polio and the cure for others.

The atom bomb.

Where are these provision for these?

The Founding Fathers were just men. Men who created a great document, yes. But they were not Supermen who could predict the future.

[blue]

Where are these provision for these?

Article V of the United States Constitution.

[blue]

Term limits could also shorten the time it would take to enact needed legislation rather then bogging it down in commities for years.

[blue]

I would like you to show me where the Founding Fathers predicted what the United States would be like in 200 years? Please?

Show me they thought things would stay the same?

They didnt make predictions, they knew things would change. It didnt matter if the change was 5 years or 500, they knew things would change. Do you think Thomas Jefferson thought we would go to the moon and back?

You know, 50 states stretching from ocean to ocean...the end of slavery, the emancipation of women, the Civil War, electricity, telephone, automobiles, trains, planes, two world wars, an increase in population from a few million to 300 million, transformation from agrarian to urban, life expectancy doubled just to name a few. The end of monarchy as they knew it, the end of many of deadly diseases -- small pox, typhoid, polio and the cure for others.

So you think the Government gave us electricity, telephone, planes, trains, and automobiles? You think the 2 World Wars werent worth fighting for? You dont think the Founders would think that the Country they helped found wouldnt prosper and flourish? You think the government was the cause of ending deadly diseases

The atom bomb.

Think of how many lives that the atom bomb has saved compared to how many its killed.

Where are these provision for these?

Article V of the United States Constitution.

The Founding Fathers were just men. Men who created a great document, yes. But they were not Supermen who could predict the future.

They didnt predict it they provided for it.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Blue, I do not agree (although that doesn't seem to be something allowed here much these days!)

The Founding Father were men, some slave owners, all very intelligent. They wrote a great document.

I do not believe they were supermen who could imagine the world today. Any more than we can imagine what the world will be like in another 200 years.

To fall back on the "original intent" (when it works in your favor) just doesn't work for me. The original intent was for that time and that place. We need to be intelligent enough to adapt it to fit the world we live in.

But one last question before I leave you to your original intent...why do you label people who hold different opinions than you do? Why the "leftie" crap?

[blue]

Blue, I do not agree (although that doesn't seem to be something allowed here much these days!)

The Founding Father were men, some slave owners, all very intelligent. They wrote a great document.

I do not believe they were supermen who could imagine the world today. Any more than we can imagine what the world will be like in another 200 years.

To fall back on the "original intent" (when it works in your favor) just doesn't work for me. The original intent was for that time and that place. We need to be intelligent enough to adapt it to fit the world we live in.

Of course you dont agree, but you never explain why you dont agree.

The Founders knew they couldnt predict the future, that is why they wrote the amendment process into the Constitution. The Constitution, as they wrote it, is the base of our laws to be added to as needed not to be interpretted to mean things not intended by the writers. They intended the doccument itself to change, not its meaning.

They werent supermen, they were smart men.

Now show me where Original Intent works against my favor.

But one last question before I leave you to your original intent...why do you label people who hold different opinions than you do? Why the "leftie" crap?

It is a good generalization of those on the left, same as right wing nut job is a good description for Rush, Hannity and O'Reilly

[Grace]

The 9th Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted December 15, 1791.

This is often referred to as the forgotten Amendment.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

I find this extremely interesting.

[Lady's Human]

The 9th amendment may be the forgotten amendment, but I refer to the 10th as the trashed amendment:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

[Grace]

. . . . . but I refer to the 10th as the trashed amendment:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

I agree.

[blue]

The 9th Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted December 15, 1791.

This is often referred to as the forgotten Amendment.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

I find this extremely interesting.

Nice catch.

Standing alone, the Ninth Amendment does not make any specific law unconstitutional. It is an explanation, not a command -- like the FAQs found on many Web sites. In this case, the Frequently Asked Question is: "The Bill of Rights provides a list of specific rights that are protected from invasion by the federal government. Does this mean that the federal government can violate other rights if they aren't on the list?" The Ninth answers, "No. The Bill of Rights is not complete. Other rights exist, and the federal government must respect them." Indeed, as a supporter of the Constitution pointed out at the Pennsylvania ratification convention, "Our rights are not yet all known," so an enumeration was impossible. While it is true that history often fails to provide clear proof of what the Framers believed, there are exceptions. The Ninth Amendment is one of them.