Constitution Monday: Presidential Oath

Note: Throughout this series, items that are hyperlinked were in the Constitution as written in 1787 but have since been amended or superseded.

Article II of the Constitution of the United States established the Executive Branch with the President as its head,  Here is Article II, Section I:

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–”I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

This section of the Constitution is the source of the oath that every President takes upon assuming office. Note that it doesn’t say “preserve, protect and defend the United States”, but the “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  The Founders certainly wanted the country to continue to exist, but they felt it more important to defend the freedoms contained in the Constitution.

The first hyperlinked section of this article reflects the original practice of electing a President. At the time of the drafting, the President and Vice-President could come from different parties under some circumstances. This happened in 1800. Based on that experience, Congress proposed and states ratified the 12th Amendment.

Abortion Provisions in House Health Bill

UPDATE 11/2/2009 – Edited to correct formatting error in Sec 258.

The US House has released HR 3962, its final version of a health care reform bill.

Despite what you may hear in the anti-reform press and blogosphere, this bill will not force abortions or abortion coverage on anyone. It won’t preempt existing state restrictions on abortion. In fact, there are explicit protections in the bill to prevent this. Here are the relevant provisions:

SEC. 258. APPLICATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS REGARDING ABORTION.

(a) No Preemption of State Laws Regarding Abortion- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt or otherwise have any effect on State laws regarding the prohibition of (or requirement of) coverage, funding, or procedural requirements on abortions, including parental notification or consent for the performance of an abortion on a minor.

(b) No Effect on Federal Laws Regarding Abortion-

(1) IN GENERAL- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to have any effect on Federal laws regarding–

(A) conscience protection

(B) willingness or refusal to provide abortion; and

(C) discrimination on the basis of the willingness or refusal to provide, pay for, cover, or refer for abortion or to provide or participate in training to provide abortion.

(c) No Effect on Federal Civil Rights Law- Nothing in this section shall alter the rights and obligations of employees and employers under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

SEC. 259. NONDISCRIMINATION ON ABORTION AND RESPECT FOR RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE.

(a) Nondiscrimination- A Federal agency or program, and any State or local government that receives Federal financial assistance under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act), may not–

(1) subject any individual or institutional health care entity to discrimination; or

(2) require any health plan created or regulated under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) to subject any individual or institutional health care entity to discrimination,

on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.

(b) Definition- In this section, the term ‘health care entity’ includes an individual physician or other health care professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.

(c) Administration- The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services is designated to receive complaints of discrimination based on this section, and coordinate the investigation of such complaints.

In the coming days I hope to find time to highlight what I think are some very helpful provisions in this bill. But I figured I’d start with the issue I figured would be first in line for the misinformation crowd.

Book Review: Bounce by Keith McFarland

Through the magic of ListenAlaska, I recently listened to the audiobook:

McFarland, Keith R. 2009. Bounce: the art of turning tough times into triumph. New York: Crown Business.

The book was part business and part social psychology. It is told in the form of a fable but appears to be backed up by research and the author’s business experience. I found it engaging and credible. The last chapter gives sources for the author’s concepts and research findings mentioned in the fable. Doesn’t work well as an audio book, but makes the paper version more useful.

This book could have been titled “Business lessons from Army Rangers” as most of the really useful business lessons are imparted by an Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan. None of the lessons involve calling in close air support on your business competitors. The lessons are focused on ways to build resiliency, which is where the social psychology comes in. The book also notes the importance of transparency and the need to involve ALL levels of your organization in problem solving.

The book has a companion website and blog at http://www.nowbounce.com/.

I found the book pretty inspiring and it gave me some good ideas for work. I hope you’ll check it out.

 

Book Review: Question of God

Recently a work friend lent me the book:

Nicholi, Armand M. 2002. The question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud debate God, love, sex, and the meaning of life. New York: Free Press.

I finished the book and I recommend it to anyone interested in Lewis, Freud or in how life’s “big questions” are addressed by atheist and believer.

Dr. Armand Nicholi is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital. The purported purpose of this book is to use the writings of C. S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud to debate issues of life in the context of belief (or lack thereof) in God and allow the reader to draw their own conclusions.

I say the “purported purpose”, because by the middle of the book it seemed to me that Dr. Nicholi made it clear that he himself favored the spiritual worldview and had his thumb on Lewis’ side of the scale.

But this is a minor matter to me. People can still read Freud’s writings and ignore Dr. Nicholi’s commentary on it.

The book is accessible and well documented. Dr. Nicholi appears to document every quote from either Lewis or Freud in his endnotes. There is an index as well. In addition to presenting the men’s writings, Dr. Nicholi also presents biographical information from published materials and from interviews with people who knew the men well.

I learned some surprising things from this book. Freud was, in my opinion a fairly messed up man. Two things bring me to this. First is Freud’s ongoing conviction that he was soon to die. He believed he would die at 31, 51, 61 or 62 or at 80. He had himself euthanized at 83. See chapter 9 for details. Secondly, throughout the book, Freud is quoted as believing that the great mass of humankind was mean, bitter, and could not be trusted. He saw his neighbor as someone laying in wait to harm and/or humiliate him. Granted he was a Jew in prewar Austria, but he held that this was a universal trait of people.

If you’ve read this book, I’d be interested in your thoughts on it.

Constitution Monday: No Army For Alaska

Note: Throughout this series, items that are hyperlinked were in the Constitution as written in 1787 but have since been amended or superseded.

Article I of the Constitution of the United States established the Legislative Branch, known as Congress. Here is Article I, Section X:

Section. 10.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it’s inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

While most states, including Alaska, have National Guard units, they are tied to the federal government. They are not independent military units free to invade other states, or in the case of Alaska, Canada or Russia.

Softer Side of Michael Reagan

Housekeeping note: I am back on the grid. I’m writing this entry from my new laptop in the Burbank airport waiting to go home to Alaska.

My limited experience of presidential son and conservative talk show host Michael Reagan has been of a mocking and name calling man in the mold of Rush Limbaugh and others across the political spectrum more interested in heat than light.

But thanks to my brother, I got to experience a different, compassionate side of Michael Reagan. My brother and his finance’ took me to a fundraiser for the My Stuff Bags Foundation last Friday. The foundation packs care packages for children rescued from abusive parents and other terribly difficult situations. The idea is to give these kids a sense of dignity by giving them something they can carry with them wherever they go. Getting a bag also is a concrete way of showing that some people do care about them. I think this work is worthy and I funded a bag. I hope you will consider doing so too.

Michael Reagan is the honorary national spokesman for this group and he spoke eloquently at the fundraiser. He really seemed to believe in the work and was very encouraging. Even in this non-partisan setting, he couldn’t resist getting in at least one dig at the President. At the end of his talk about My Stuff Bags, he stated that people fretting about Obama’s indecision could relax — after much deliberation, the President signed orders for 40,000 troops — and they were headed to Fox. I’m not a Republican, but I laughed at it’s cleverness. Still seemed out-of-place for an event dedicated to abused children. But I appreciate Mr. Reagan’s commitment to helping children in need.

I bring up this story because it highlights a point I try to make here periodically — Never write off your political opponents. You never know if there is at least one issue that you might be able to work hand in hand on. Try. If they won’t play along (health care comes to mind), feel free to move on without them. But gauge their interest first. You might get a pleasant surprise.

Book Review: Undercover Economist

If you’re looking for a well documented, accessible book on economics that will keep you giggling, try:

Harford, Tim. 2006. The undercover economist: exposing why the rich are rich, the poor are poor–and why you can never buy a decent used car! Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mr. Harford writes in a clear and sometimes playful style to illustrate basic economic principles. For example, here is how he describes how coffee shops gets customers to expose just how much they’re willing to pay for their coffee:

Take a Starbucks, any Starbucks. (…) The price list looks like this:

————–

Hot Chocolate $2.20

Cappuccino $2.55

Caffe Mocha $2.75

White Chocolate Mocha $3.20

20oz Cappuccino $3.40

————

Or, to translate:

————

Hot Chocolate — no frills $2.20

Cappuccino — no frills $2.55

Mix them together — I feel special $2.75

Use different powder — I feel very special $3.20

Make it huge — I feel greedy $3.40

——–

Starbucks isn’t merely seeking to offer a variety of alternatives to customers, it’s also trying to give the customer every opportunity to signal they’re not looking at the price.

The book is wide ranging, from coffee, to health care and international poverty. On each of these topics he draws some surprising conclusions.

While I’m still a firm believer in a strong public option for health care, I think Mr. Harford makes a strong case for a health-care system without it. He thinks we should adopt a model like Singapore’s and at least one commentator agrees. I’m not ready to advocate for it here because I suspect we’d get the “pay on your own” portion without the strict regulations and public catastrophic health plans that seem to make the Singapore system work.

Underground Economist is well documented with end notes and has a good index.

Unviewed But Decent: Tracy Arm

I took the above picture during a June 2007 cruise to Southeast Alaska’s Tracy Arm. I uploaded the picture to Flickr on June 11, 2007 and no one has looked at it since. I hope you’ll take a moment to click on the picture and see the larger image at Flickr. I like how the other tour boat is framed by parts of an iceberg.

Constitution Monday: No Nobles and No Indefinite Detentions

Note: Throughout this series, items that are hyperlinked were in the Constitution as written in 1787 but have since been amended or superseded.

Article I of the Constitution of the United States established the Legislative Branch, known as Congress. Here is Article I, Section IX:

Section. 9.

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

The part about the Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus needs a little explaining, especially since it’s been bent these days. Before any explanation is attempted, I want to point out that this “Writ of Habeas Corpus” isn’t merely for citizens or the Framers would have said so. Were the Constitution strictly upheld, the Writ is for everyone.

So what is the “Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus”?

Here is a two paragraph explanation from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute:

The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787 and specifically referred to the writ of habeas corpus as a fundamental legal underpinning of the new nation. The thirteen original states ratified the Constitution and then it was amended in 1791 by the Bill of Rights. The request for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus is made before a judge and, if granted, a prisoner must be brought before the judge. The writ requires whoever is holding the prisoner to produce him before the judge at a time determined by the judge. The writ of habeas corpus was the “mechanism” for the founders to encourage the separation of powers and maintain the balance between them because it was the ultimate protector of the rights of any individual threatened with unlawful imprisonment or detention. The courts had the legal authority to require the imprisoning governmental body to bring the accused to court and if the prisoner was not produced then the people who authorized the imprisonment were to be held in contempt of court. The founders understood that the law and not the government should be the ultimate determinant of our democracy and that the rights of its people had to be the law’s focus.

The writ of habeas corpus came from the legal traditions of English common law and it survived because it represented the struggle of the individual against the excess of governmental abuse. It directly addressed the inequality of power between a citizen and the government and it is the basis of this curriculum unit. It is an excellent beginning to the study of the origins of the government of the United States and it is a key legal concept to follow through the history of America. The curriculum unit will focus on the effects of war in the maintenance of this basic right, particularly the American Civil War. Abraham Lincoln did not hesitate to suspend the writ of habeas corpus when he believed that the Union was threatened and his actions will be the primary focus of the unit. There will be some significant time spent in the origins of the writ itself and what it means and the curriculum will also link Lincoln’s struggles with Chief Justice Taney and the Supreme Court with the very recent developments in the legal history of habeas corpus in the Supreme Court’s decision of the legal case, Boumediene v. Bush.

The site I’m quoting from has more material on the Writ and on the extremely rare and dire circumstances where it may be legitimately suspended.

But in short it is intended to prevent unlawful detentions, such as a President of either party deciding that you are an unlawful combatant because you either attended a mosque 20 years ago with a radical or are a member of the League of the South and have 300 rifles in your home and thus are forever beyond the reach of the courts.

Autopilot Blog w/No Moderation This Week

If you are reading this entry, it means that I have made it to Southern California to visit my ailing father. I will be gone for a week or so. You’ll still see a few blog posts, but I wrote them up weeks ago and scheduled WordPress to post them for me.

My blog is set up that if you haven’t ever commented before, your comment goes into a moderation queue. This week that means that if you’re a first time commentor, your comments won’t be posted until I return. You’re not being censored (unless you’ve also violated my comments policy), you’re just being delayed. At least it’s better than being stranded in a plane on the tarmac for six hours straight.

In case you’re wondering, my Alaskan home remains well defended in my absence. Defenses include cats who have tasted blood. Can’t tell if they liked it or not.

See you next week.