The Obama administration decided to pick a handful of fights that put our Bill of Rights at the center of the discussion. While I'm no fan of their liberty-crushing agenda, I'm always happy to have a discussion over the virtues of our founding documents and the rights they protect. There's one part of this discussion though, that needs to be addressed. There's a blanket argument bouncing its way around lefty spheres that goes something like this: 

The federal government was created by the states. Simple enough, right? In the era of massive federal government expansion, simple facts are easily lost. Lest we lose hold of our plumb line, even the simplest, most basic tenets of our founding principles bear repeating. 

Lately, the left and leftist media in particular, love to lecture Americans on what we need and don't need. "You don't need to protect yourself with that type of weapon" they say, "you don't need to drive an SUV," "you don't need 20 oz of Dr Pepper," "you don't need to make that much money," and the list goes on.  Thankfully, the Constitution is not about needs.

November was rough, but it's time to get back to work. Pick your lip up off the floor, scrape the Romney/Ryan sticker off your back windshield (replace it with something like a Gonzalez or Gadsden Flag, or course) and get back to work. America needs you now more than ever. In case you don't believe me, while we dawdle, Democrats are unleashing statist fury on states like Texas.  Last week, Politico reported:

Leave it to the Lone Star State to put up a fight.  Despite unprecedented federal government expansion, Texas is determined to flex their Constitutionally granted state powers.  At the helm is Governor Perry, known for his love of the tenth amendment.

One of the greatest threats to individual liberty is dependency on the state. Yet, over the last four years, America has experienced a surge in those trading economic freedom for government dependency.  The "land of the free" is now responsible for a vast portion of the population living off the means of others and there seems to be no end in sight.  The issue is laced with moral implications; those who see no problem with living off the hard work and sweat of others, as much as it is the economic ramifications of the unsustainable course America has currently chosen.

Most Americans are aware of very few of their Constitutional rights, or more accurately, Constitutional protections. As kids we try unsuccessfully to "plead the fifth" when mom questions us about the broken lamp and as teenagers, we love to remind our parents of our right to free speech. But aside from these few, there's an unfortunate ignorance about our other protections, in particular the tenth amendment.

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Texas Public Policy Foundation's eleventh annual conference in Austin. A native Texan myself, I've always been proud of my state, some might say "obnoxiously proud" but I prefer to think of it as a, "passionate conviction of liberty and general badassness." In any case, the more I learn about the behind the scenes machinery, the more I love the Lone Star State.  

About a month ago when the trillion dollar coin idea was floating around the internet, I had a sneaky feeling we'd see it again. Unfortunately, I was right. The article responsible for bringing this nonsense to the public arena was published by the Washington Post in December. The theory goes: 

That this post is even necessary is mildly troubling. Yes, it's true. Congressman Serrano of New York's 15th district wasted no time introducing a bill to repeal the twenty second amendement. The bill reads: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.