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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: US Constitution

US Constitution stories: 22 news summaries

1 - 20 of 22 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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JACK CAFFERTY

Obama Can, Should Lock Congress In Until Health Vote

Constitution would allow it, so let's get a yea or nay

Nov 6, 09 6:24 PM CST
(Newser) - Grumpy old man Jack Cafferty is getting tired of Congress dragging out health reform, and wants President Obama to get lawmakers motivated. Using his constitutional powers, Obama should deliver this ultimatum: I’m ordering the Congress to remain in session until both houses vote on a final version of health-care... More »

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Congress • Senate • House of Representatives • vote • US Constitution • health care reform • Jack Cafferty • President Obama

 Game Plays Out 
 2011 Obama Coup 

Ron Paul fans behind scenario, which also finds Glenn Beck dead

Oct 24, 09 5:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - For the burgeoning ranks of political paranoids, a scenario in which President Obama dissolves the Constitution, bans guns and drags the US into a union with Mexico and Canada seems not all that far-fetched. Now, thanks to some Ron Paul supporters, you can prepare for 2011 (yep, that soon!)... More »

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Mexico • Democratic Congress • Canada • Fox News • Ron Paul • Michelle Malkin • Glenn Beck • US Constitution • libertarians • online gaming • gun ban • coup d'etat • President Obama • United States of Earth • imam

ANALYSIS

 Glenn Beck's Mormonism 
 Is the Apocalyptic Kind 

Ties to radical mid-century LDS thought could sully Romney 2012

Oct 8, 09 2:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Most of the media has been understandably wary of tying Glenn Beck’s Mormonism to his jeremiad against President Obama and the enemies of freedom, Adam Reilly writes. And yet, Beck is a clear inheritor of a particular strain of mid-century Mormon political ideology that espoused virulent anti-communism and the... More »

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Mitt Romney • Mormonism • Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints • Communism • Glenn Beck • US Constitution • Obama administration • Joseph Smith

Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Local Gun Laws

Challenge to Chicago handgun ban could neuter local gun control measures

Sep 30, 09 11:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court will take up a case that could radically alter legal precedent regarding gun ownership and Second Amendment rights. The case is an appeal brought by Chicago-area gun owners who challenged the city’s ban on handguns. The high court overturned such a ban last year in Washington,... More »

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Chicago • US Constitution • Second Amendment • US Supreme Court • constitutionality • handgun • handgun ban • Fourteenth Amendment

Health Foes Fight Mandatory Insurance at State Level

Efforts, mainly GOP-led, appear more symbolic, but could result in court battles

Sep 28, 09 7:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Efforts are afoot in more than a dozen states to outlaw mandatory health insurance, a preemptive strike against federal health reform that, though mainly symbolic and constitutionally dubious, could provoke a court battle that would be costly and delay any plan passed by Congress. “I just don’t want... More »

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health insurance • Massachusetts • Minnesota • US Constitution • health care reform • court cases • states' rights • Obama administration

ANALYSIS

Supreme Court Likely to Uphold Alabama Sex Toy Ban

Justices unlikely to make a rights issues out of sex toys

Sep 16, 09 6:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - An Alabama statute criminalizing the sale of sex toys will probably be upheld as constitutional if it is challenged in the Supreme Court, Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy. The statute—which was upheld by the state's Supreme Court Friday and bans the distribution of  "any device designed... More »

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Alabama • US Constitution • sex toys • libertarianism • Eugene Volokh

 Court: Ashcroft on Hook  
 in Post-9/11 Detention Case 

Bush attorney general slammed for imprisonment without charges

Sep 4, 09 7:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Former Bush attorney general John Ashcroft can be held personally responsible in a lawsuit brought by a US citizen who was detained on suspicion of being a material witness to terrorism but was never charged with a crime, an appellate court ruled today. Abdullah al-Kidd alleged the detention, begun in... More »

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Department of Justice • John Ashcroft • American Civil Liberties Union • US Constitution • appellate court • Abdullah al-Kidd • unconstitutional • material witness

OPINION

Sneak Attack on Electoral College Gains Ground


Jul 17, 09 1:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Opponents of the Electoral College are making progress on an end run around the institution with the goal of setting up a system that would decide the presidential election solely on the popular vote, Tara Ross writes for the Weekly Standard. “Formally eliminating the Electoral College through a constitutional... More »

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electoral college • US Constitution • state legislature • governor • presidential election • National Popular Vote

OPINION

 Blame Founding Fathers for Paralysis on Climate Change

Minority's outsize power prevents real change: Tomasky

Jun 29, 09 10:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama's narrow victory last week, when the House passed the climate change bill by just 7 votes, raises the question of why it's so tough to get change enacted even when the president is popular and his party has majorities in both houses of Congress. The problem Democrats face... More »

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climate change • Barack Obama • Congress • Senate • US Constitution • Michael Tomasky • House Democrats • separation of powers • Waxman-Markey

glossies

US Army Evangelism:
Is It a 'Crusade'?


Jun 19, 09 8:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - US Army chaplains have distributed Arabic-language Bibles in Iraq, told soldiers to "hunt people for Jesus," and speculated that President Obama is a secret Muslim. Enough already, says a religious rights watchdog: Led by Air Force veteran Mikey Weinstein, the group is suing the Pentagon over alleged religious-based... More »

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free speech • religion • US military • Bible • US Constitution • evangelicals • Iraq war

OPINION



 How We Can 
 Get Rid of 
 This Guy 


Feb 19, 09 2:02 PM CST
(Newser) - Even with everyone in sight calling for his head, even after he’s been caught lying multiple times about his appointment, Roland Burris seems determined not to step down. But there is a quick way to be rid of him, law professor Garrett Epps writes for Salon: The Illinois legislature... More »

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Senate • Illinois • US Constitution • Rod Blagojevich • constitutional law • US Senate • pay to play • Roland Burris

'Just to Be Safe,' Obama Should Redo Oath: Experts

Lawyers advise he retake fudged oath to avoid controversy

Jan 21, 09 4:40 PM CST
(Newser) - OK, it's probably not going to come up in court, but some constitutional lawyers tell the San Francisco Chronicle that Barack Obama should retake his flubbed oath just to be on the safe side. Presidents Coolidge and Arthur did after similar gaffes. It "would take him 30 seconds, he... More »

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Barack Obama • John Roberts • US Constitution • inauguration • President Obama • Inauguration Day • presidential oath

Ky. Atheists Fight 'Foolish' Security Law

Amendment says state relies on 'almighty God' for protection

Dec 5, 08 12:03 PM CST
(Newser) - Atheists are kicking up an almighty fuss about legislation that states Kentucky's safety and security can only be achieved through reliance on God, the Chicago Tribune reports. Bluegrass State unbelievers have filed a lawsuit seeking to have the offending law repealed, saying they fear their security may be in the... More »

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religion • Kentucky • First Amendment • US Constitution • atheism • atheists

ANALYSIS

 Constitution May Sink 
 Hillary's State Chance 

Lawmakers can't take federal post for which their Congress raised the salary

Nov 20, 08 12:35 PM CST
(Newser) - Should Barack Obama nominate Hillary Clinton for secretary of state, the confirmation process could be the least of her worries, the Washington Post reports. The Constitution prohibits any member of Congress from assuming a federal post whose salary has been increased during the lawmaker’s term; cabinet salaries have risen... More »

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Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Congress • Senate • secretary of State • US Constitution • Election 2008 • Robert Byrd • President Obama

Bush Could Block Probes Even After He Steps Down

Soon-to-be ex-prez has Truman, Nixon precedents for keeping executive privilege

Nov 13, 08 5:34 AM CST
(Newser) - President Bush may be able to maintain his executive privilege to block investigations even after he leaves office, the New York Times reports. Harry Truman successfully claimed he had the right not to testify in 1953, nearly a year after he left office, and Richard Nixon later used Truman's case... More »

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Bush administration • Congress • Congressional investigations • subpoenas • executive privilege • subpoena • US Constitution • George W. Bush

OPINION

'The Oracle' Forgot One Thing: We're Greedy

Founding fathers quickly figured out people couldn't be trusted to be selfless

Oct 18, 08 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - If those who ignore history repeat it, Alan Greenspan must have slept through a few Constitutional history classes. In promoting the risky derivatives market, the former Federal Reserve chairman was depending on individuals' restraint and care for the greater good. But Americans just aren't that altruistic, as the Founding Fathers... More »

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Alan Greenspan • derivatives market • regulation • US Constitution • George Washington • greed • Thomas Jefferson • financial crisis • John Adams

analysis

Guantanamo Only Looks Like a Real Trial

Beneath surface lie fundamental questions about its fairness

Jul 29, 08 7:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - The first trial taking place at Guantanamo Bay has the look and feel of a real American court proceeding, but that appearance is in many ways just an illusion, writes William Glaberson in the New York Times. Secret evidence remains sealed in red folders, much of what is presented was... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Guantanamo Bay • Osama bin Laden • US Constitution • Salim Ahmed Hamdan • Military Commissions Act • military commissions • Guantanamo tribunals

Illegal Search Rule Faces
New Challenge

US is the only country to automatically reject unlawful evidence

Jul 19, 08 8:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - America is the only country in the world where evidence—even a carload of narcotics—is automatically suppressed if the police are found to have acted wrongly in acquiring it, writes the New York Times. Courts in other countries weigh the level of police misconduct with the gravity of the... More »

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law enforcement • police • US Constitution • search and seizure • Fourth Amendment • US Supreme Court

McCain Backs Bush Wiretaps: Adviser

Says candidate believes president has right to 'override' law

Jun 6, 08 6:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain supports President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, a top adviser writes in a letter posted on the National Review website. The adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, outlines McCain's belief that the Constitution authorizes the president to override a federal statute that requires court oversight for surveillance. The position marks a sharp... More »

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Bush administration • John McCain • FISA • US Constitution • warrantless wiretapping • National Review • domestic wiretapping

McCain, Born in Canal Zone, Dismisses Citizenship Flap

He says he's a natural-born citizen, which qualifies him

Feb 29, 08 9:12 AM CST
(Newser) - A recent media flap about John McCain's citizenship is a non-issue, the candidate says. McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone while his father served there in the Navy, which makes him a natural-born citizen and qualifies him to run for president, the AP reports. His camp recently sought... More »

MORE ABOUT:
John McCain • Panama • citizenship • canals • US Constitution • US Navy • presidential election

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