The Bill of Rights Under Attack

I open this talk, by refering to the first paragraph of an tribute I wrote to Tim Russert. It applies.

"My many years of appointment viewing of Meet The Press tells me that Tim Russert was a man who, among other things, would say to his staff do your job. Find the good information, check, double and triple check the facts for accuracy, gather views con and pro and report it to the public, then let the chips falls where they may. That to me is what journalism is all about."

There is no time better than now for reporters to do their jobs and report not just today but for days to come the real news.

The real news is there are dangerous and lethal attacks occurring, at this writing, on the Bill of Rights of the people of the United States.
The latest salvos have suspended Habeas Corpus and have allowed for wiretaps without warrants.

The assumption is that those in power know what they are doing and they are acting for the good of the nation. The thought is, when the threat is over, say “terrorism,” Habeas Corpus will be restored and the illegal wiretaps will cease.

I am reminded that power relinquishes nothing without struggle.

It is the job of the free press to remind us and to tell us what is truly happening; why the assault on the fourth amendment and others are underway. Why now; why this amendment which reads:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.”

The founding writers of the Constitution experienced the tyranny of the then Government, the Monarchy of England, to search their homes and belongings to bring charges against them; especially in cases dealing with customs laws.

These writers knew then what they needed to rely upon and what we journalists need to recapture now; our good judgments, a belief in our own eyes, ears and experience; observations of the willful eroding of the Bill of Rights.

Finally, certain founding writers had the good sense to realize that such assaults on the people would happen without checks on our very own Government. The Ninth Amendment to the Constitution was established.

At a critical time when arguably the life of the individual citizen is under scrutiny for being different, authentic or original James Madison’s writing on why America needed a ninth amendment is extremely important."

Especially when you consider the activity in the United States Senate in 2008. They dismantled the fourth amendment. The reasons, accessible technology, which encryption could handle and terrorism, which diplomacy on many accounts appear the key to resolving issues.

The ninth amendment leaves open in my mind God’s intention for the individual’s right to a life he or she chooses to live freely in peace and unencumbered. The ninth amendment found in the United States Constitution clearly states:The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Madison, who authored the ninth amendment, argued the fallacy in man’s thinking that he could simply list all the innate/inherited rights of a human being. That fete is well beyond our reach. How do you begin to reflect on the enormity of “free will” or “inalienable rights” birthed in the souls of man by the Creator?

I came across this quote by Madison as he moved to have the ninth amendment adopted to insure that the list he and others attempted in the Bill of Rights had breath and depth beyond the stated, and most importantly could not be suspended:''It has been objected also against a bill of rights, that, by enumerating particular exceptions to the grant of power, it would disparage those rights which were not placed in that enumeration; and it might follow by implication, that those rights which were not singled out, were intended to be assigned into the hands of the General Government, and were consequently insecure. This is one of the most plausible arguments I have ever heard against the admission of a bill of rights into this system; but I conceive, that it may be guarded against. I have attempted it, as gentlemen may see by turning to the last clause of the fourth resolution.''

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Madison is clear in his assessments that Government needed to have an impenetrable barrier that protected the rights of citizens, a barrier that would serve to thwart attempts to curb and to limit the true rights, realized and unrealized, of individuals. He was equally clear that the ninth amendment is an important safeguard and today more than ever it is vital that this framer’s intentions and courageous attempts to insure the rights of citizens are strongly protected are emphatically asserted.

It is not about leaving it up to the reader/consumer/viewer to determine whether the "reporter" is making the information up. Journalism is not a game, so stop playing at news and do the job. Mr. Russert did show us that getting at the truth could invoke intrigue and drama, although it need not be manufactured (hype). This is indeed a critical time for serious critique.

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