Constitution:The Congress shall have Power … to declare war

Tennessee lawmakers are pushing SB 0529, which would force Internet retail giant Amazon to collect state sales taxes that would be passed along to consumers. Amazon has threatened not to build planned distribution centers in Tennessee if the measures are put in place; they have already left Illinois, South Carolina and are threatening to leave Texas for similar legislation.

Democracy and Power 112:  Conflicts of interest The politician seeks a position of power, which requires the votes of his constituents.  However to be a power elite, the politician must be a loyal member of a party.  Often, the interest of the politician’s constituents and loyalty to the party are in conflict.

Call me old fashioned, but if I remember correctly the U.S. Constitution was drafted specifically to enumerate powers granted by the governed to their government. And it’s a very short list. Which, as far as I know, says nothing about mandatory taxpayer-subsidized, government-rationed universal health insurance.

Over the 4th of July, Freedomworks volunteers collected hundreds of signatures on petitions opposing socialized medicine at Tea Parties and other events across the country. Last week, FreedomWorks interns delivered those petitions to the appropriate members of Congress. Below are photos of some of those deliveries and contact information for each office. Thanks so much to those patriots who signed and sent in petitions!

Two Rasmussen Reports surveys released today cause me to wonder (as I often do) why so many people believe that government is the solution rather than the problem. First, as TKeeley mentioned in an earlier posting on these pages, the Congressional Performance survey in which "Congressional approval fell to single digits for the first time ever. "This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job.