The Constiution: " just a piece of paper."

Recognize this? “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.

The bill of rights and the Constitution formerly had meaning, but now it is meaningless, for as George W. Bush purportedly told Republican members in Congress: “Stop throwing the constitution in my face; it’s just a goddamned piece of paper”. He was correct and Obama has gone even further in ignoring and defiling the Constitution. The first amendment, cited above, is now just a piece of meaningless paper. One merely has to look at the Occupy movement, inspired by the Arab Spring notably in Egypt, to see the flagrant disregard of the Constitution at all political levels. The First Amendment establishes “the right of the people to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”, but isn’t this exactly what the Occupy movement has been doing? Is the movement peaceful, are Occupiers petitioning the government for a redress of grievances? They are, so why have political authorities in all major cities acted to prevent folks from peacefully assembling to petition the government for change? Where is the Bill of Rights? It apparently is just a “piece of paper”. The cities have enacted foolish regulations and restrictions gutting the first amendment of its substance. The first amendment does not say you must disband your peaceful assembly at 7:00 p.m. or after dark, it does not say you cannot set up a camp, it does not say you cannot use a microphone, or anything of the like. Local authorities have simply passed requirements, which have in fact infringed upon the people’s right to peacefully assemble and petition the government for change. The Bill of Rights does not condone direct hit pepper spray to college kids sitting peacefully, nor does it condone the use of pepper spray on 84 year old women, nor does it condone life threatening injuries to a veteran of the US armed forces having served in Iraq. Local authorities have simply stolen the right to peacefully assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. Where are the defenders of the Bill of Right? A knee jerk reaction would be to look to the Justice Department of the US government to uphold the Constitution, which they promised in oath to do. However the Justice Department is a participant in shredding the Bill of Rights and the entire Constitution.

The Fifth Amendment, among other things states that no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, and it also states no “person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury”. Try and tell all this to American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki. You cannot explain all this to al-Awlaki for he is dead; assassinated without being indicted, or for that matter, without anything. He has murdered because…; well we do not know why for the US government says it’s all a secret and they cannot tell us save for the fact that the US government did not like the sermons the cleric delivered. Ask what this man did, and the answer is the same, we cannot tell you. Ask what evidence they had, and they once again say they cannot tell you for it is a secret. Are there others on a government hit list? Yes. How many and who is on the list is all a secret. Are you on a hit list? Can’t tell you! But wait; what about the Fifth Amendment? It’s just a piece of paper! But what about the Justice Department and Mr. Holder, who swore to uphold the Constitution? It’s just a piece of paper, and Mr. Holder is an empty suit. Did you ever in your wildest dreams, believe that in the United States of American a president can maintain a secret hit list, and murder US citizens without an indictment, trial, evidence, or any justification? To quote an Occupy chant: “This is what a police state looks like.”

Some might argue that the murder of al-Awlaki might possibly be legally justified by using the Fifth amendment cop out clause “except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger”; but wait, there is no legal war, for the Constitution states in Article One Section Eight that only Congress can declare war, and of course Congress abrogated that part of the Constitution despite having taken an oath to defend the Constitution. In light of Congress’ unwillingness to exercise its Constitutional duty and declare war, that clause of the Fifth Amendment is irrelevant in defending the assassination of al-Awlaki.

Why don’t we just vote them all out for flagrantly defying the Constitution despite having taken an oath to defend it? Well we can’t, for despite the Supreme Court’s historical defense of the one man one vote concept, it no longer holds water. Actually you do not have anyone representing your interest in the Congress, for Congress has turned themselves in to a ring of prostitutes by selling themselves to campaign donors, special interests who contribute large sums, banks, Wall Street, the big pharmaceutical companies, the health care industry, and least we forget, the military industrial complex. You, the 99% are voiceless, because the Constitution is” just a piece of paper”.