Who says you can't run a campaign on CNN?

As many of you know, Caroline Kennedy is pushing hard to get the Senate seat from New York that was vacated by Obama's appointment of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Kennedy has made no qualms about pining for the position. She is using her profile as JFK's daughter to attract copious amounts of media attention to build momentum and tie the hands of New York governor David Patterson.

This comes at a time that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been arrested on corruption charges for, among other things, attempting to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. I honestly believe that we should look at a constitutional amendment to change the way that vacant Senate seats are filled. Our constituion is based on the idea of checks and balances, and there is no check on executive authority when a single person is allowed to wield such power and influence.

I'm not sure why we don't have it already, but any time a seat is vacated, there should be a temporary appointment by an executive, and then an election by the people the Senator represents. I'd like to hear an argument against it... so if you disagree, let me know.

Spying on American Troops?

Wow. I just read an article on CNN that got my blood boiling. The report is that the NSA used the Bush Administration's broad license to wiretap international calls to spy on American military officer's calls home. Forgive me if I don't trust the denials from the NSA saying that if they were personal conversations they were immediately deleted, but what reason do we have to trust what they say anyways?

Agree with me or not on the Bush wiretapping policies (see my previous posts) this is bad even for W. I cannot believe that the federal government would deem it ethical, moral, or its place to listen to the private converstaions of our military personell and their loved ones. Not only do we have our troops stuck in Iraq for who knows how long, but now we are giving them the ultimate slap in the face by violating their personal confidence and closest relationships.

I can't think of a better way for our federal government to say "thanks, but no thanks" for the ultimate sacrifice of these brave men and women who not only leave their families, but are risking their lives in the service of our country. I can only hope that people like you and I care enough to write our senators and representatives and let them know that this cannot stand.

Second Amendment Upheld

The Supreme Court this morning ruled in another 5-4 decision against the DC handgun ban, ruling that the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, is an individual and not a collective right. I agree with the justices that it is not an unlimited right, but the DC gun ban banned all handguns within resident's homes as well as requiring any other firearm, even within one's home, to be either disassembled or disarmed with a locked trigger guard.

Surprisingly, this was the first time in nearly three decades that the Supreme Court had ruled on the Second Amendment. The DC gun ban, like the one in Chicago, was created due to the city's high level of criminal activity. The justices ruled, though, that the constitutional right to bear arms trumps their ability to create public policy.

In my mind, and in the minds of the Founders, the right to bear arms was not only fundamental to self-defense, but also fundamental to avoiding tyranny. If we live in a nation where the police or the military are the only ones with weapons, citizens are unable to defend themselves in a time of crisis or abuse of power. I'm okay with background checks and restricting mentally ill persons from purchasing weapons, though. But I'm glad the Court upheld the individual's right to bear arms.