Know thy government

Friday Constitutional 1 - Preamble, Article One; Sections 1 And 2.

The basic intent of this series is to look at the base document of our Republic the Constitution of the United States of America... Each week this series will look at a section of the Constitution and give a basic explanation of what it seems to mean. The Dog knows that interpretation of the Constitution is a contentious field of expertise and that he is likely to be thought to be wrong.

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The Constitution starts with the Preamble, which many of you might remember from the great School House Rock animation:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The above are some of the most powerful and meaningful words that have ever been written in the English language. To the Dog this one very long and run on sentence is the core of what our country is. It talks of the people, not citizens, not land owners, not whites, not men but all the people. It is true that at least some (if not most) of the framers thought people equaled white, land owning men, when they wrote that, but the choice of words speaks to the inclusiveness that is a hallmark of our current democracy. Without those first six words, we would be a very different country. The preamble goes on to describe what the People intend to do with this document, the core needs that the framers felt had to be enshrined if their new country was to prosper and not become decedent. Work towards a more perfect (but not completely perfect or stagnant) Union. To establish Justice (which is different from revenge), insure domestic tranquility (avoiding war within the new Union), Provide for the common defense (we are stronger together than we are apart), promote the general welfare (we are only as strong as the weakest among us) and live in liberty for now and the future.Those 18th Century politicians set lofty goals for themselves and their decedents didn’t they? Call the Dog a freak if you like, but since he was a kid, any time those words are spoken or he reads them, a chill comes over the Dog. Now lets look at Article One:
Section One:

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Article 1, Section 1 sets out the form of the Congress, two houses, one called the Congress (thanks for making that confusing, founding fathers!) and the other the Senate. It also reserves all legislative power for these two Houses. Those elected to these Houses have the right to make all laws. It is their responsibility alone that brings new Federal laws into being. Of course they are not the final say, as the framers where very concerned that too much power would accrue into the hands of a few, but they are the only ones that can write and pass legislation.
Section Two:
There are five clauses in Section Two, all of which deal with the who can be in Congress and what responsibilities they will have.
Clause One:

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

This clause sets out that we will elect our Congressmen/woman every two years from each state. They will have to be qualified as set out in Clause Two.
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Know Thy Government

Friday Constitutional 2 - Article One, Sections 3 and 4

Now onward to Section Three, which deals primarily with the structure of the United States Senate.
Section Three
Clause One:

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof,3 for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

This clause is pretty straight forward, it sets out that each State shall have two Senators, and they serve for a term of six years. What is interesting to the Dog is that the Framers thought that it was important enough to make clear that each Senator would only ever have one vote. It must have been important to them, specifically in the Senate, as they did not use the same language when setting forth the rules for the House of Representatives.
Also notice that originally it was the State legislature that elected Senators not the public at large. In 1913 the 17th Amendment changed that to state that Senators would be elected by the people of the state. Historical fun fact, the State of Utah was the only state to vote against ratification. It was never subsequently ratified by that state.
Clause Two:

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

In this clause the Constitution sets out the rules for the dividing the Senate in to the “classes” so that only one third of the Senate will face re-election at any given time. The Dog wonders how much political infighting went into the selection of each class as two thirds of those first Senators did not have a six year term but a two or four year one. As with Clause One the way that Senators are replaced has been changed by the 17th Amendment. In that amendment it directs the Governor of the state to hold an election to fill any vacant seat, but it allows the State legislature to give the Governor the power to appoint a temporary Senator until the seat is filled in an election that the Legislature determines the timing of.MORE

Good. GOD. Uh Republicans? You should be hiding your faces in shame now.

GOP: 'Action Alert - Auto Bailout'

1. This is the democrats first opportunity to payoff organized labor after the election. This is a precursor to card check and other items. Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it.

Naturally. Cause destroying the unions takes precedence over saving the jobs of 3 million Americans.


Ladies and Gentlemen? The CANADIANS are bailing out the Big Three.

U.S. and Canadian governments say they will ride to the rescue of the beleaguered Detroit auto makers, hoping to head off a catastrophic collapse of Chrysler LLC or General Motors Corp. that would cascade throughout the North American economy.

Ottawa and Ontario will provide an estimated $3.4-billion to the Canadian units of the Detroit Three, while U.S. President George W. Bush will throw a $14-billion (U.S.) lifeline to their parent companies.

[snip]

[Canadian Industry Minister Tony] Clement would not provide a specific figure, but he said the amount of money in the Canadian bailout represents this country's one-fifth share of the Detroit Three's North American vehicle production and on Canada maintaining that percentage.

“Clearly, this amount of money is meant to be, as the U.S. is finding out, a way to keep the doors open for the domestic auto sector while they continue their long-term planning,” he said.MORE

Rachel Maddow on the Republican Senators Interests in Union breaking and supporting foreign auto makers over our own unionized workers.

Part Two

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Lets talk autoworker pay

Lets talk paychecks

Deb already pointed out that the average line worker makes only about $28 an hour (or $56,000 per year). I don't think many people would try to argue that $56,000 is too much for a family with a couple of kids, a mortgage, and the usual needs of a typical American family. Bill Kav noted:

Several Senators have used a figure of $73 per hour to describe UAW labor rates. The actual UAW rates vary, from $14 per hour for new workers at the Big Three to $33 per hour for skilled trades workers. The Republican $73 per hour figure includes not only adding in benefits, but also adding a hefty additional total of ALL current retirees benefits from contracts of years gone by, divided by the number of current workers (a much smaller workforce). Somehow, this figure made it seem as if current workers were rolling in clover at a huge hourly salary— which none of them are actually drawing.

In stark contrast:

[E]xecutives have been redistributing shareholder wealth to themselves -- while the company headed toward a cliff -- and the executive-friendly board allowed them to do it.

For example, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner's 2007 pay ($14 million) breaks down to $7,000 per hour (based on a 2000-hour year). Yes, you read that correctly -- and that was a year that GM had $38 billion in losses.

If the average autoworker makes $28 per hour, then Mr. Wagoner's hourly pay could have instead paid 250 average GM workers -- people directly involved in making products that make money for GM shareholders.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally's 2007 pay was $21 million, which amounts to $10,500 per hour. A year earlier, Ford had record losses of $12 billion. Mr. Mulally's hourly pay could have instead paid 375 average Ford workers.

It doesn't stop with CEOs. Four of Ford's vice presidents were paid $39 million in 2007, an average of $9.75 million each or $4,875 per hour. The total hourly pay of all four execs combined could have instead paid 696 average autoworkers.

I don't have access to compensation data for the dozens -- or hundreds -- of other execs at GM and Ford... (BN-Pol)

But wait! There's more:MORE

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war criminal

{Rachel Maddow} Lame Duck Watch: Congressional Report Blames Top Bush Officials For Prisoner Abuse

(no subject)

Apparently Obama is gonna be good for transportation

Transportation will play a central role in Obama's first months in office, not just for policy changes aimed at improving highway, air and rail travel, but as a road toward economic recovery, energy independence and environmental protection.

Solve road congestion, Obama's reasoning goes, and you put people to work.

Use less gasoline and help clean the air.

Build better trains and move goods more efficiently.

Get people out of their cars and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"We will create millions of jobs," he said recently, "by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s."MORE

Funny how the article makes the environmentalists' position sound like a bad thing:

Even without an increase, Obama will have to deal with environmentalists who want to undo a bargain struck during the Reagan administration that funnels roughly 80 percent of gas tax revenue to highway projects and 15 percent to transit. They want to redirect money away from highways to alternatives such as transit and intercity passenger trains.

Considering the fact that using a car to run a simple errand takes me 15 minutes max, whereas waiting on the bus was 1 hour and counting (and I got tired of waiting and ditched the whole thing), give me better-planned and funded mass transit please!