24. Government serves We the People." It has no more authority to govern us, our lives, or our property than what is delegated expressly in the Constitution. Same thing for state governments and state constitutions. Constitutions represent the "Permanent Will of the People" in establishing the role, the scope, and the limits of government in their lives.
25. The US Constitution
26. It means two things. First, a federal law, for example, must comply with the procedural requirements of the Constitution such as being passed by both Houses of Congress before being signed by the President and appropriations bills must start in the House. Second, it must substantively comply with the Constitution i.e., be within the enumerated powers of the general government as spelled out in the Constitution.
27. "No Person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible for the Office of President."
The intent of this constitutional requirement that the President be a natural born citizen can be summarized by various letters written by Justice John Jay to President George Washington:
"The intent of the United States constitutional requirement that the President of the United States be a natural born Citizen of the United States is:
(1) to reduce the likelihood that a President of the United States would have a former, or present, attachment to a foreign country (because such an attachment could influence one to make decisions that would not promote the interests of the United States); and
(2) to increase the likelihood that the interests of any President of the United States will coincide with those of the United States.
What does "natural born citizen" mean?
- "Born" means "from birth"
- "Natural: means "having a normal or usual character" or "conforming to a thing's natural or essential nature, function, association, or arrangement in nature - such as the natural bond between mother and child; the natural basis for reproduction
- "Citizen" means "a person domiciled in the United States, for whom rights, privileges and immunities are set forth in the United States Constitution."
- > So, the following interpretation of the phrase "natural born citizen of the United States" most likely means: Those citizens born as citizens (of the United States) of the particular expectable kind that is considered by the United States as belonging to the United States to a maximal degree.
- > The common understanding of a "natural born citizen" is that the following necessary and sufficient conditions must be found for a candidate to be considered a natural born citizen of the United States:
(i) The person was born in the United States;
(ii) Both parents of the person were Citizens of the United States when that person was born, and
(iii) The person has been a Citizen of the United States, since birth.
NULLIFICATION IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO RESTORE CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS !! Thomas Jefferson called Nullification the "Rightful Remedy" to stop the federal government from enforcing unconstitutional laws, policies, and court decisions on the American people.
Learn more about Nullification. Join us at NULLIFY NOW! in Raleigh on Saturday, October 19 at 9:00 am the Raleigh Convention Center, 500 S. Salisbury Street, downtown Raleigh. SPEAKERS include Thomas Woods (author of "Nullification: How to Fight Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century"), Mike Church (conservative talk radio show host and producer), Publius Huldah (dynamo strict constitutionalist and lawyer), Michael Boldin, Dr. Greg Brannon (running for US Senate), Dr. Dan Eichenbaum (of Dr. Dan's Freedom Forum), and others! Get your tickets now for $10.00 - at www.nullifynow.com.
"What is a Constitution? It is the form of government, delineated by the mighty hand of the people, in which certain first principles of fundamental laws are established. The Constitution is certain and fixed; it contains the permanent will of the people and is the supreme law of the land..." --- Vanhorne's Lessee v. Dorance, 2 U.S. 304, 308 (1795)
"The Constitution of a State is stable and permanent, not to be worked upon by the temper of the times, nor to rise and fall with the tide of events; notwithstanding the competition of opposing interests, and the violence of contending parties, it remains firm and immovable, as a mountain amidst the raging of the waves." --- Vanhorne's Lessee v. Dorance, 2 U.S. 304, 308 (1795)
"A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government; and government without a constitution is power without a right. All power exercised over a nation, must have some beginning. It must be either delegated, or assumed. There are not other sources. All delegated power is trust, and all assumed power is usurpation. Time does not alter the nature and quality of either." --- Thomas Paine, Rights of Man (1791-1792)
"The purpose of a written constitution is to bind up the several branches of government by certain laws, which, when they transgress, their acts shall become nullities; to render unnecessary an appeal to the people, or in other words a rebellion, on every infraction of their rights, on the peril that their acquiescence shall be construed into an intention to surrender those rights." --- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1782.
"Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction." --- Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to W. Nicholas (1803)
Publisher's note: Diane Rufino has her own blog, For Love of God and Country.
Come and visit her. She'd love your company.
