Happy Anniversary!

We designated conservatives must be a light in the darkness, wherever we may be.

I live in a one-party neighborhood in a one-party community. All local elections are settled in the Democratic Party primary, not in the general election.  The last Republican to hold local elective office here was booted out more than 20 years ago.

Am I discouraged? No. I hold my candle of conservative values high. My Democrat friends and neighbors know what I believe, and respect me for them, because I share my beliefs in a respectful way. More importantly, the light of this candle in the darkness is reflected in the eyes of those of my neighbors who are still in-the-closet, afraid of what our liberal neighbors will say if they’re exposed as conservatives.

If we designated conservatives don’t stand up for our values, who will?

With those words and a “Welcome to the home of a designated conservative of the Republican Party” this blog was born one year ago today…

These are NOT Your Parents’ Public Schools

Public schools today are not the same places American children attended in the 1940s or 50s.  They are alien environments to those that went through school in the 1960s and 70s.  While vaguely familiar, they are still quite mutated from the educational environment of even the 1980s. …And not for the better!

A Conservative Teacher offers an insider’s view of public education with a pair of excellent, in-depth articles on how public schools work today, and how public education policy is created in Michigan. With our recent election battle over school funding in Washtenaw County, this Designated Conservative thought that A Conservative Teacher’s comments were right on point.  Here are some excerpts (click here or on the headlines to read the entire articles):

Send a Message: Vote “No!” on the proposed Washtenaw County Intermediate School District’s “Enhancement” Millage

VICTORY UPDATE: Washtenaw County’s Taxation without Representation

To our liberal, teachers union friends who spouted gloom and doom if this WISD millaged failed:

24,114 residents of Washtenaw County voted for the WISD millage for public schools yesterday.  Now, this designated conservative suspects that they were voting for a tax hike on the assumption that other “rich people” would pay the bill, but in the hope that they were willing to put up their share I offer the following suggestion:

If all 24,114 “yes” voters each donated just the $200 per year that they said the tax would cost the average county homeowner, they alone would provide over 80% of the $30,000,000 that this new tax was projected to provide to the schools.  Considering that this voluntary method would minimize collection/administration costs associated with the tax process, I suspect that their voluntary contributions would actually provide MORE funds to the schools than any tax.  Come on “yes” voters – it’s time to get your checkbooks out and support the schools!

THANK YOU!

To all our designated conservative friends in Washtenaw County, thank you for coming out yesterday in overwhelming numbers to say “NO!” to the flawed WISD “enhancement millage!  Thank you to all those that spearheaded the “Vote No” campaign!  Great job.

Now comes the hard part:  It’s time for designated conservatives to step in and lead our local public schools away out of the slow-death spiral the Michigan Education Association (MEA)-sponsored “leaders” have created for our children and grandchildren.

This Designated Conservative encourages like-minded folks to write to your school board members, district superintendents, and elected state representatives and tell them the unaccountable tax-and-spend, “this is the way we’ve always done things” mentality is no longer acceptable if we are to have a strong and vibrant public school system in Michigan:

10,000

The Designated Conservative would like to thank our loyal readers for carrying this blog up and over a significant threshold: 10,000 pageviews.

For a young blog born less than a year ago in the disheartening aftermath of a disastrous Presidential campaign, it’s great to have garnered so much interest.

I would also like to thank President Obama for helping to keep our material fresh and interesting.

Some of the best Obamanation posts can be found…

Winning the ‘Race to Witch Mountain’

The Designated Conservative finally saw the (still reasonably) new movie Race to Witch Mountain last night.  With no time to offer up a full review for designated conservative parents out there, all I will say is…

The Subprime Marriage Crisis

This piece came across the Designated Conservative’s RSS Feed recently from “Sixteen Small Stones” (excerpt below – click here to read the whole piece).  The author draws a striking parallel between the financial mess the country is in and the oncoming family and marriage train wreck:

An analogy between same-sex marriage and the credit crisis

by J. Max Wilson

In order to draw my analogy, it is important to first look at how this economic crisis came about. As usual, even experts disagree about some of the roots of the crisis, and like the Great Depression, I am sure that they will be arguing about them for decades to come. However, most of the explanations I have seen point to the Housing Market Bubble , Subprime Mortgages and Mortgage Backed Securities as the crux of the crisis.

(T)he credit crisis was incubating for a long time before it actually hit. Laws and policies enacted nearly a decade ago, if not more, did not bear fruit until this last year.

A decade ago I was…

Republican Opposition to the Stimulus: Wrong, But Not Treason

The Designated Conservative was pleased and surprised to come across this piece (excerpt below) from a liberal, self-described environmentalist neighbor of mine who has clearly not drunk deeply of the national Democrat Party leadership’s Kool-Aid (to read the entire article, click here).

First, a personal note to the author:

Mr. Alson,

I sincerely hope that you do not lose your party credentials for writing such heresy, but if you do, remember this: With your thoughtful words, you did not leave the Democrat Party; it was the radical, Pelosi-liberal thugs that shanghaied the (D)

Movie Reviews for Designated Conservative Parents

Family-friendly and kid-friendly movies with a good message are becoming ever harder to find.  “G” rated movies are a rarity, even fromWalt Disney Studios - which once defined the genre.  “PG” rated movies are hit or miss – they might be appropriate for children, or they might not.   Worse yet, today’s “PG-13″ rated movies look too much like older “R” rated films, illustrating the “ratings creep” phenomenon identified in a 2004 Harvard University study.

What is a parent to do?   We designated conservatives are here to help with our special feature on this site:  Movie reviews for kids by kids!

Click here or follow the link at the top of this page for all of the latest movie reviews from the Designated Conservative team.

 

Tell Congress: Support H.R. 450, the Enumerated Powers Act!

Excerpted from WorldNetDaily:

Act forces Congress’ return to limited government 

Legislator to colleagues: ‘Your laws not authorized by Constitution‘

By Chelsea Schilling

Sponsored by Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., H.R. 450, or the Enumerated Powers Act, states, “Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act. The failure to comply with this section shall give rise to a point of order in either House of Congress. …”

When he introduced the proposal Jan. 9, Shadegg gave a House floor speech reminding his colleagues of limited authority granted in the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution.

It states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

“What that means is that the Founding Fathers intended our national government to be a limited government, a government of limited powers that cannot expand its legislative authority into areas reserved to the states or to the people,” Shadegg said. “As the final amendment in the 10 Bill of Rights, it is clear that the Constitution establishes a Federal Government of specifically enumerated and limited powers.“

“This measure would enforce a constant and ongoing re-examination of the role of our national government,” he said. “… It is simply intended to require a scrutiny that we should look at what we enact and that, by doing so, we can slow the growth and reach of the Federal Government, and leave to the states or the people, those functions that were reserved to them by the Constitution.”

Shadegg said the act would perform three important functions:

1. It would encourage members of Congress to consider whether their proposed legislation belongs in the federal level in the allocation of powers or whether it belongs with the states or the people.
2. It would force lawmakers to include statements explaining by what authority they are acting.
3. It would give the U.S. Supreme Court the ability to scrutinize constitutional justification for every piece of legislation. If the justification does not hold up, the courts and the people could hold Congress accountable and eliminate acts that reach beyond the scope of the Constitution.

“(T)he Constitution gives the Federal Government only 18 specific enumerated powers, just 18 powers,” Shadegg noted.

“Let me be clear,” he said. “Virtually all the measures which go beyond the scope of the powers granted to the Federal Government by the 10th amendment are well-intentioned. But unfortunately, many of them are not authorized by the Constitution. The Federal Government has ignored the Constitution and expanded its authority into every aspect of human conduct, and quite sadly, it is not doing many of those things very well.”

While many believe government “can do anything,” that is not what the Founding Fathers intended for the nation, Shadegg contends.

WND columnist Henry Lamb has been urging voters to contact (your) representatives and ask directly if they will co-sponsor and vote for the Enumerated Powers Act, or explain why not – in writing.

Lamb suggested the act become the theme song of the tea parties taking place around the nation.

“Nothing short of massive public pressure will force congressmen to take a position on this important bill.” Lamb wrote. “Nothing short of a return to the Constitution can save this great nation.”

Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., chairs the House Rules Committee, and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairs the House Judiciary Committee – where the act was referred Jan. 9 and remains today.

“Both of these committee chairs should be bombarded with phone calls and e-mails asking that H.R. 450 be brought to the House floor for a recorded vote,” Lamb wrote.

PopModal.com – The Conservative Alternative to YouTube

This Designated Conservative came across PopModal.com this afternoon, which is self-described as “the conservative alternative to YouTube.” Lots of videos of Ann Coulter, Mark Levin, Elvis (?), and this one from Kid Rock and the National Guard:

http://www.popmodal.com/video/852/Warrior-Kid-Rock

A nice site, apparently still in its infancy on the ‘net….

Day by Day is the Best Way

We all need a laugh each day, especially under Obamanation.  This Designated Conservative has become a huge fan of Chris Muir’s cartoon “Day by Day” – which can be found at http://www.daybydaycartoon.com.

Here’s a sample:

Tea Party Redux

…and another:

A wise purchase...?

Go to the website to enjoy all of Day by Day.

Reaganomics Redux 2010 – Newt’s Prosperity Plan

The Designated Conservative has been enjoying a little light bedtime reading this evening from Newt Gingrich:  

12 American Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity

Washington solutions of more money for more government, more power for politicians, more debt, and more bureaucrats will not lead to real growth in jobs and prosperity.

We need a clear and decisive alternative that creates jobs and rewards work, saving, and investment.

Payroll Tax Stimulus.

• With a temporary new tax credit to offset 50% of the payroll tax, every small business would have more money, and all Americans would take home more of what they earn.
• A tax credit that offsets 50% of the payroll tax would put close to $1,500 in the pocket of the typical worker making $50,000, with the same amount going to the employer.

Real Middle-Income Tax Relief.

• Reduce the marginal tax rate of 25% down to 15%, in effect establishing a flat-rate tax of 15% for close to 9 out of 10 American workers.
• Reducing the marginal tax rates for these middle-income earners would lead to income increases for middle-income workers, just as reducing excessive marginal tax rates for higher-income workers did, going all the way back to the Kennedy tax cuts of the 1960s.

Reduce the Business Tax Rate.

• Match Ireland’s rate of 12.5% to keep more jobs in America.
• Owning or operating a business is hard and expensive. Our government should not make it harder and more expensive. Lowering the business tax rate would create and keep more jobs in America, instead of exporting them to other countries.

Homeowner’s Assistance.

• The housing crisis stems from the fact that there is an excess supply of housing. This abundance of houses on the market significantly decreased demand for housing and caused defaults to rise sharply.
• Reducing the existing supply of housing by providing a tax credit to responsible home buyers, reduces defaults by slowing price decline.

Control Spending So We Can Move to a Balanced Budget.

• A government of the people, by the people, and for the people is one that is responsible with the people’s money.
• Restoring fiscal sanity and accountability to Washington also means eliminating wasteful pork-barrel spending. The budget process must be both honest and transparent, and spending should never be a result of insider connections in Washington.

No State Aid Without Protection From Fraud.

• The Government Accountability Office recently released a report that shows over 10 percent of Medicaid payments were improper in 2007, or $32.7 billion in one year. In just New York along, over $5 billion a year is wasted as a result of fraud.
• When government decides to spend our tax-dollars, we must demand honesty, transparency and accountability. Therefore, states must be required to adopt best practices, such as moving to electronic records, if they are to receive any taxpayer money.

More American Energy Now.

• We have more energy resources than any country in the world, yet we are sending billions of dollars every year to foreign dictators to meet our energy needs. That is bad for both our economy and our national security.
• We can begin to solve this problem by drilling for more of our own oil and gas.
• By making the transition to clean coal technology, we can utilize our vast resources of coal (27 percent of the world’s reserves), dramatically reduce carbon emissions, and become a worldwide leader in green technology.
• A Manhattan project to stimulate advances in renewable fuels and alternative energies will allow us to eventually produce safe, clean, efficient and inexpensive fuels here at home.

Abolish Taxes on Capital Gains.

• Match China, Singapore and many other competitors. More investment in America means more jobs in America.
• The current tax on capital gains constitutes double taxation, to which no American should be subjected. Already taxed on income, if an individual decides to save or invest his or her money then the government taxes it again.

Protect the Rights of American Workers.

• We must protect a worker’s right to decide by secret ballot whether to join a union, and the worker’s right to freely negotiate. Forced unionism will kill jobs in America at a time when we can’t afford to lose them.
• Workers have had the right to a secret ballot since 1935, to ensure that they would have a vote free of coercive pressure.

Repeal Sarbanes-Oxley.

• This failed law is crippling entrepreneurial startups.  Replace it with affordable rules that help create jobs, not destroy them.
• It has been six years since Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act after the devastating accounting irregularities of Enron and WorldCom. While the intent of the law was to prevent corporate fraud, there is growing evidence that it has done more harm than good, and is undermining the venture-capital industry in Silicon Valley.

Abolish the Death Tax.

• The “Death Tax” is an unfair double taxation that hurts working families. The assets that working Americans earn or produce over their lifetime have already been taxed once.
• Not only does the “Death Tax” undermine savings and investment needed for small business growth, these taxes undermine the promise that hard, honest work will be rewarded.

Invest in Energy and Transportation Infrastructure.

• This includes a new, expanded electric power grid and a 21st century air traffic control system that will reduce delays in air travel and save passengers, employees and airlines billions of dollars per year.
• Though we often take modern transportation systems for granted, the development of effective transportation technology and infrastructure is one of the prime factors behind our individual and national prosperity.

In the midst of the news cycle filled with Obamanation and Noovoodoo Obamanomics, I’m grateful for a buoyancy of experience moment from an experienced Washington politician – reminding us designated conservatives about what actually has worked and will work again for our economy.  If you need more sanity, click here or get it directly from Newt’s mouth below:

Need more? Click here to get access to all future updates from the Designated Conservative.

Related Posts:  NOOVOODOO OBAMANOMICS

Champion by Choice

The designated conservative recently came across this poem (below) once again – it had been saved long ago, and forgotten for a time.  It was a fortuitous find, just as many Americans outside of the Washington Beltway are going back to basics and returning to core values.  In the age of Obama, economic nationalization, and liberalism on parade, it’s good to remember what is most important:

 

Handsome is as handsome does is a saying, very true

It makes a world of difference what things you say and do.

If you love the Lord with all your heart, might, mind and strength

You will give your time and talents and your means to any length.

Your bosom will burn with Gospel truth, a chill goes up your spine

And you thank the Lord with all your soul for the plan of life divine.

The blessings of the Priesthood from heaven are inspired

And the Gospel of Jesus Christ is much to be desired.

With open arms embrace it put your shoulder to the wheel,

Keep your feet upon the narrow path, the ways of sin are real.

Incline your ear to the word of God, an eye single to His glory,

Guard well your tongue, its utterance may change your whole life’s story.

Avoid the use of liquor as also cigarettes,

School your feelings and your passions then harbor no regrets.

The Lord bids that you return to Him His help is always nigh,

The Devil bids to claim you too, your bid will break the tie.

Find in your opportunities rich blessings at your feet,

With faith and works, it is yourself with whom you must compete.

Be happy, be your own best friend, fear not to raise your voice

In defense of truth, be a champion, a champion by choice.

(author unknown)

Teach like it’s 1979

The blogger “A Conservative Teacher” has posted a great piece on a recent Vietnam War assembly that speaks volumes to the state of our public education system.  I encourage you to check it out.  Here is an excerpt:

…the students were really excited for this- they were talking in the classroom before the presentation about how it would be great to see some real heroes, about how it would be a great chance to learn real history and not the modified liberalized version they usually hear. So the students all crowded into the auditorium, full of excited chatter. (emphasis added)

And then the speakers will come out to speak to the students. The opening line of the presentation was “We support the troops, but that doesn’t mean we support war.” It went downhill after there- the speakers were all anti-Vietnam war protesters and anti-Vietnam war veterans.

As the presentation went on, the background chatter and attentive looks on students faces slowly faded away, to be replaced by the usual blank vacant stare that students assume on being brainwashed by leftism…

Reading the post took me back, way back to the Carter years.  For those that lived through them, they were unforgettable.  Stagflation, the Misery Index, Walter Cronkite’s 444 nightly reminders of the Iran hostage crisis, and the disastrous military rescue attempt that ended at Desert One.  It also took me to my memory of a group of high school teachers who, in 1979, would’ve happily sponsored the very same event.  

• Who are we as taxpayers that we continue to subsidize a public school system that has failed so completely at responding to the changing needs of our children?  There are alternatives and even more alternatives after all!
• Who are we as a nation that we allow such mediocrity and shallowness of thought to be passed on to our children in our public schools?
• Who are we as parents that we accept the indoctrination of our children by zealous partisans under the guise of education?
• Who are we as a conservative movement that we continue to meekly yield to the left the high ground of teaching the coming generation about the true principles upon which our country was founded? – that is life, liberty, freedom, and limited government.
• Who are we as a community that we accept such shoddy and outmoded teaching as described by A Conservative Teacher? 

Wake up, America!  It’s no longer 1979.  Our military is no longer the post-Vietnam shadow it once was, and Vietnam is no longer the last war we fought – although it fortunately remains the only war we fought to lose.  We are at war with an enemy the likes of which we haven’t experienced before, and yet we are winning.  We have so much to be proud of with regards to our military, our country, and our veterans.  For teachers to continue to pretend that it’s 1979 is educational malpractice, and it is up to us to let them know.

Wake up American teachers!  It’s no longer acceptable for you to teach

…how students need to always end wars and agitate against any war that we are engaged in (and) how it was patriotic to be against America…

Wake up American parents!  Be aware of what your children are being taught.  Arrange to visit their classrooms, and be prepared to intervene to help your child be successful.  The hearts and minds of our children are under assault, and the institutional knowledge that is so necessary for the success of our “government of the people, by the people, for the people” is being lost as our public schools have radicalized the curriculum. 

Wake up American taxpayers!  Our tax dollars are supporting criminally mediocre public schools that are failing to prepare our children for college, the workplace, and even simply to function as thinking and reasoning adults in our society.

UPDATE:  Well, something has changed in teaching since 1979 after all.  I read a bit further into A Conservative Teacher’s blog and found this gem.

I’m so glad I read 1984 recently- I actually hadn’t read it until a couple years ago- in high school, the advanced students didn’t read Animal Farm and 1984, and instead read highly intelligent liberal drivel. But my brother and I often talk about these books nowdays, as America sadly descends into the fascism and socialism that was described in them.

One of my brother’s disagree’s with me- he says it won’t be 1984 that we see, but rather a Brave New World- happy, fluffy, smiley-faced fascism. This actually fits with an earlier post of mine called “Happy-Nicing Ourselves into Dictatorship.”- Maybe there is something here- doped up kids, random sex, mindless entertainment, no morality or religion. Just gnostic overlords ruling over us stupid masses- a heartless, ghastly prison, with walls painted up with bright murals of MLK and Mother Earth singing kumbya. Kind of like the school I teach at right now!

At least in 1979 those high school teachers I mentioned above were still requiring their students to read George Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984.  Brave New World wasn’t on the required list, but was recommended reading. 

“Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike.  No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs.  The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”  - Orwell, Animal Farm

 

 

 

 

 

The Coming Conservative Ascendancy?

I ran across this excellent article by Mark Tapscott on the DC Examiner website that gave me, a designated conservative of the Republican Party, some hope for the future.  What is that hope?  The “NetGen.”  Who are they?  As Tapscott notes:

The NetGeners are the future of the conservative movement because they are the heart and muscle of an historic opportunity to restore and reinvigorate our ideals of individual freedom and limited government.

Who are the NetGeners? And why do I believe they hold such promise for the Right?  Because the NeT Geners are at the confluence of the Internet as the dominant communications tool, economic platform and social connector, the demographic reality of a generation growing into adulthood whose numbers exceed even that of the vaunted Baby Boomers, and the intrinsic contradiction between the politics of centralization that currently defines politics and governance and the culture of choice that defines the coming majority of Americans.

The NetGen are usually defined as Americans born between 1977 and 1997.  Tapscott goes on to note in his article that research has found that this rising generation of Americans hold several conservative-oriented values in common, including  freedom, customization, and collaboration. 

1.  Freedom.  

“Net Geners expect freedom, especially in the workplace. ‘They prefer flexible hours and compensation that is based on their performance and market value, not based on face time in the office.’  But the insistence on individual freedom doesn’t just impact the workplace. Net Geners expect choice everywhere, and why not when they have grown up with a multitude of consumer choices in their daily lives. Think iPOD and the multiplicity of songs available through iTunes.”

2.  Customization.  

“They also love having the opportunity to adapt, to customize products to suit their particular needs. Think TiVo, which allows individuals to watch what they want when they want, and to skip through the commercials while doing so.  Is a generation that demands the freedom to choose from among thousands of widgets that provide infinite adaptability likely to be satisfied with a government-run health care system that by definition can provide few choices and for whom customization controlled by individual customers is intrinsically alien?”

3.  Collaboration.

“I believe the culture of collaboration among Net Geners is the norm that most threatens the liberal moment.  A generation that expects to be free, to be able to customize and to be able to scrutinize authority is also a generation that is discovering a multitude of ways in which the Internet empowers what used to be called the “thousand points of light.”  (T)hat is exactly why liberals are doomed to fail in the Internet age – because the dominant values of the Net Geners empower individuals, not collectives.”  

Tapscott also offers the most concise definition of conservatism I’ve seen in many a moon:

“Conservatism is all about individual freedom, decentralizing government and empowering local communities to solve their own problems.”

If these children of the Baby Boomers get together with the Reagan Generation (those of us old enough to have voted in 1980 or ‘84), there is no stopping a rejuvinated conservative movement.  So, those of the rising NetGeneration, let your light shine forth in the darkness of Obamanation, and become the next designated conservatives for the republican party!

Holding the keys for Michigan Republicans

So I’m sitting on a folding chair last week in an undisclosed location of a mid-sized Michigan county and a small Michigan downtown with 40 fellow Michigan republicans, and what do I hear?  Enough harsh words that I thought my ears might start bleeding… …ok, it wasn’t that bad.  After all, we’re republicans, not democrats!  Most folks there were true-blue red-state-ers; equal parts surly, contemplative, and dispirited in the wake of Tuesday’s election results.   

After spending much of this year holding the keys for the McCainiacs and my Democrat friends who drank the Obama Kool-Aid, I was thrilled just to be in the same room with other designated drivers conservatives.  Unfortunately, most folks’ candles of conservatism were at such a low ebb that the guttering flames threatened to go out entirely….

Here are a few snippets of the conversation:

• “The Democratic tsunami was larger in Michigan because the Michigan Republican Party wasn’t ‘there.’”
• “25% of the people in the room are Ron Paul ‘true believers’.  The Party leadership deliberately ignored Ron Paul – remember, he’s been right about everything he said.” 
• (of course, a non-Paulite in the crowd pointedly noted that Ron Paul himself supported a third-party candidate in the general election instead of the Republican standard-bearers!)
• “The Republican candidates that were successful in the last election did so despite, not because of, our party.”
• “You cannot be successful if you’re telling your (volunteers) to start fighting now and we’ll tell you what you’re fighting for later!”
• The reason Republicans stayed home and only 20% percent of precinct delegates actually volunteered is because we didn’t have an actual Republican at the head of the national ticket!
• “The Party needs to teach Econ 101 – socialism removes checks and balances from government and leads to corruption.”
• “Fight with everything you have not to become Canada (so said a Canadian expatriate and local businessman); the government makes money disappear!”

…and what about Sarah Palin?  Flying in the face of conventional wisdom as expressed by MSNBC, no one spoke ill of VP candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.  On the contrary, several noted that she was the main/only reason they voted for McCain!  (I’m shocked that one simply cannot believe everything they read in the papers/hear on cable news any longer…..)

What must the Michigan Republican Party and its designated conservatives do to recover in 2010 and beyond?  That’s the $700 Billion Question. 

UPDATE: Cold Turkey (quitting the income tax habit)

UPDATE: The intent of this idea of going “cold turkey” on the federal income tax is really all about restoring the constitutional balance between the federal government, state governments, and the people.  The founding fathers viewed the potential of the federal government to accumulate power and trample on freedom and liberty with trepidation.  In response, the authors of the constitution and Bill of Rights included as many checks, balances, and fences around federal authority as possible.

One of the natural limitations on federal power was the ability to tax.  Limited federal revenues naturally limited federal power.  This began to change with the passage of the 16th Amendment.  The federal-state-people relationship turned virtually upside-down in the wake of the New Deal, World War II, and especially with the Great Society social-welfare explosion of the 1960s and 70s.

The only way to begin the process of restoring the proper federal/states constitutional balance is to…