What Happens When the 6th Amendment Is Ignored?
It’s the stuff of cop shows: When someone is arrested the police say, “if you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you.” Everyone knows these lines, but did you know the Miranda rights started with the Sixth Amendment? Article III, section 2 of the Constitution says that all trials in America shall be by jury. The Sixth….Read more
4 Ways To Avoid Another Vietnam
After the second chemical attack on his own people by Syria’s Assad, the Trump administration, along with France and England, launched cruise missiles. The stated goal was to cripple Assad’s chemical programs, a valid reason for action. This targeted attack came after one in 2017 by just the United States. Unfortunately it didn’t deter Assad from doing it again.….Read more
What You Need to Know About the 10th Amendment
What powers and freedoms do states have? States’ rights is tricky. The powerful in Washington want national authority to carry out their agenda, while those out of power invoke states’ rights. These positions are then reversed when one party loses office. Generally, America’s political leaders put one principle first: the Vince Lombardi Principle. Do whatever you must so that….Read more
Knock Knock! Who’s There? The 4th Amendment
Check out the case of federal judge Harold Baer, who tossed out 80 pounds of cocaine and heroine found on drug traffickers when he ruled a police search illegal. Often Americans gripe about criminals getting off on such “technicalities.” But are they mere technicalities? Catch criminals or protect privacy? The Fourth Amendment seeks to balance the….Read more
Top 5 Acts of Civil Disobedience in American History
During the national School Walkout Day protests, two schools in the town where I formerly taught took very different approaches. At School A, student leaders met with administrators to design an “administrative-sanctioned plan” for a moment of silence and reading of gun violence statistics. The plan had no “political context,” but would instead “honor the students and staff who….Read more
VIDEO: Don’t Be Cruel and Unusual, Says the Eighth Amendment
A president can be impeached for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” but the U.S. Constitution doesn’t specify what those are. This caused a bitter partisan fight during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Interpreting the Constitution is not an easy job for the Supreme Court. Some meanings come….Read more
VIDEO: Declaration of Independence: A Radical Document
Do you understand the Declaration of Independence beyond the fact that it divorced the American colonies from Great Britain? Today its words seem routine, but it’s hard to overstate how radical those ideas were at the time! Every revolution since America’s has been inspired by the words “all men are created equal.” That idea about universal human rights was rejected….Read more
What Does the Second Amendment Mean?
The Second Amendment means many things to many people. Why did the framers endow armed militias with a special place in the Bill of Rights? The federal courts have contradicted one another. In the end, it is up to ‘We The People’ to determine what regulations should be placed on gun ownership. Freedom of speech under the….Read more
Fake News From Paul Revere to Iraq
Fake news is a troubling trend yet not new. Ben Franklin admitted to paying for false stories of Indian scalpings to justify evicting them from British-controlled lands. In 1835, the fledgling newspaper The Sun reported telescoping views of advanced civilization on the moon. The editors knew it was false but wanted to spark circulation. ….Read more
A Child’s Story of the 1902 Coal Strike Horrifies the Country
The witness sat, surrounded by powerful men in business suits, bracing for interrogation. The Anthracite Coal Strike Commission of 1902 was taking testimony. The witness would be questioned about his role. His name was Andrew Chippie. He was eight years old. The boy explained to the commission how, after the strike, coal company owner John Markle cancelled the day-to-day leases….Read more