ArcaMax

"That God, which ever lives and loves,

One God, one law, one element,

And one far-off divine event

To which the whole creation moves."

-- Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

When American colonists were oppressed by British monarchs, the word most frequently uttered in pamphlets, editorials and sermons was not "safety" or "taxes"; it ...Read more

"No doctrine involving more pernicious consequences was ever invented by the wit of man than that any of [the Constitution's] provisions can be suspended during any of the great exigencies of government."

-- Ex Parte Milligan, Supreme Court of the United States, 1866.

President Donald Trump has recently imposed a national sales tax on ...Read more

The U.S. Constitution was crafted in 1787 both to establish a new central government and to limit it. Some of the limitations are direct, some are subtle, and some are hidden. The chief instrument of limitation is the separation of powers, the brainchild of James Madison.

The late Justice Antonin Scalia called the separation of powers the most ...Read more

"I disagree with what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it."

-- Voltaire (1694-1778)

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he included in it a list of the colonists' grievances with the British government. Notably absent were any complaints about infringement upon speech.

In those days, ...Read more

"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -- and ...Read more

When an invitation from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the renowned Professor Alexander Dugin to visit them in Moscow arrived in my inbox, it was actually the culmination of a series of emails and telephone calls from Russian-American friends giving me a heads up. Still, it startled me.

So, last week, I flew to Dubai in the United ...Read more

"If all mankind minus one were of one opinion,

and only one person were of the contrary opinion,

Mankind would be no more justified

In silencing that one person,

Than he, if he had the power,

Would be justified in silencing mankind."

-- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

The world is filled with self-evident truths -- truisms -- that ...Read more

I have often thought that after Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson was our worst president. By worst is meant least faithful to the Constitution and most destructive of personal liberty.

With the exception of Lincoln's dictatorship -- during which the federal government used violence to crush the states' natural right to secede from a union they ...Read more

Normally, when the government asks a judge to dismiss criminal charges against a defendant, the judge will happily do so. This does not occur frequently, but occasionally, the government will reevaluate the strength of its own case and conclude it cannot prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty.

What happens when the ...Read more

"The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace, and covers with the shield of its protection all classes of men, at all times and under all circumstances. No doctrine involving more pernicious consequences was ever invented by the wit of man than that any of its provisions can be suspended ...Read more

The taxing power in the federal government resides in the Congress. The Constitution states that Congress has the power to "lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts" of the federal government. Indeed, in order to emphasize the location of this power in the Congress, the Constitution also requires that all ...Read more

In 2021, to his credit, President Joe Biden warned the American public against the dangers of zero-click spyware manufactured by an Israeli corporation. Zero-click is unwanted software that can expose the entire contents of one's mobile or desktop device to prying eyes without tricking one into clicking on to a link. Biden banned its importation...Read more

"Congress shall make no law ...
abridging the freedom of speech
or of the press..."

--First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

During the oral argument before the Supreme Court in the famous Pentagon Papers case, a fascinating colloquy took place between Justice William O. Douglas and the lawyer for the government. The case ...Read more