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I Plead the 5th

We are all pretty tired of covid. We’ve seen rises in depression, anxiety, domestic abuse, child abuse, as well as drug and alcohol abuse as a result of being quarantined; quarantined whether you’re healthy or not. The debate began. “For the love of humanity, wear a mask!” And in the same breath, “But let me go to work!” Unfortunately, the two issues fall under the same umbrella, individual liberty. We either give it up entirely and accept that the government mandates and forces by law that we are all wearing masks and closing businesses OR we all open businesses as WE (the people) see fit and wear masks if WE (the people) are concerned; individual liberty and choice.

To dive a little deeper into this, we have to understand the US constitution, and in my personal case, the Tennessee constitution. First, masks. Can the government mandate that the public wear masks? Well, ask yourself this question, can the government mandate that you wear a seat belt? The answer to that is obviously yes. But there’s one HUGE distinction: the legislative branch proposed a bill requiring seat belts be worn that, after traveling through the proper channels, was voted on and passed into law. The law mandating masks being worn in public hasn’t had that opportunity. There has been no involvement from the legislative branch on masks in any government in the US. Again, we’re back to the constitution. Let’s see what it says.

Article II, section 2 of the Tennessee constitution says this, “No person or persons belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, except in the cases herein directed or permitted.”

Article II, section 3 says this, “The legislative authority of this state shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives, both dependent on the people.”

Article II, section 18 says this, “A bill shall become law when it has been considered and passed on three different days in each House and on third and final consideration has received the assent of a majority of all the members to which each House is entitled under this Constitution, when the respective speakers have signed the bill with the date of such signing appearing in the journal, and when the bill has been approved by the governor or otherwise passed under the provisions of this Constitution.”

Based solely on these three articles, it is unconstitutional for ANY branch of government to exercise authority over another branch. In the mask controversy, the executive branch exercised authority over the legislative branch by enacting a law without that branch. Look up “separation of powers” or “Checks and balances”. But what does this have to do with businesses? Glad you asked.

The constitution was designed to limit the government, never the people. So let’s return to the constitution. The US constitution, Amendment V states, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury… nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” Your business is “property”.

More succinctly, in the case of Tennesseans, the TN constitution states in Article I, section 21, “That no man’s particular services shall be demanded, or property taken, or applied to public use, without the consent of his representatives, or without just compensation being made therefore.”

Based solely on the US constitution and the TN constitution, it would be unconstitutional to mandate a business closure without “due process of law”. In the midst of this “pandemic”, businesses were forced to close, due to no fault of their own, without due process of any kind. Sports industries have been shut down… without due process of any kind. The entertainment industry (bars, concerts) which is close to my heart, has been shut down… without due process of any kind. Both the US and the TN constitution limit activity. But wait, it’s a state of emergency. That changes things. Possibly… let’s look.

Emergency management codes were all designed to “suspend” laws in order to expedite resources needed to help recover quickly from an emergency. For instance, laws that require multi-level approval for funding can be suspended during a state of emergency in order to expedite the funds. Another suspension of laws includes liability. If a first responder administers treatment because of an emergency, that responder is free from liability during a state of emergency. Laws were never meant to be created and/or enacted during this time.

During the pandemic, the federal government issued suggestions of safety. They gave recommendations. The states, however, began issuing mandates across the country (all except South Dakota). In TN, in particular, my home state, the governor began issuing mandated businesses closures and mask mandates which transferred authority to mayors throughout the state. The only basis on which he was able to act was one code. T.C.A. § 58-2-107.

T.C.A. § 58-2-107 Part (a)(1) says, “In the event of an emergency beyond local control, the governor… may assume direct operational control… and such person has the power through proper process of law to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The governor is authorized to delegate such powers as the governor may deem prudent.”  Part (a)(2) says, “…the governor may issue executive orders. Such executive orders, proclamations, and rules have the force and effect of law.” This code is strictly unconstitutional, per the above text from both the US constitution and the TN constitution.

There is hope. Take a look at an example HERE where the supreme court overruled a president for attempting to issue an executive order that, in the supreme court’s opinion, was unconstitutional. In Tennessee, there is an organization taking a stand against the unconstitutional code that gives the Governor too much power. Click HERE to read more. There’s also a petition to get the Tennessee house and senate’s attention. Click HERE for that. So, when it comes down to the bottom line on whether businesses should be forced to close or we should be forced to wear a mask in public, ask the simple question, did anyone vote on this? If the answer is no, then a king must be involved. As for me… I plead the 5th (Amendment).

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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The Pelosi Effect

I’m not a Trump apologist. There are many things to dislike about this man. The recent statements about Rep. Dingell were just plain gross, unnecessary, uncalled for, and in extremely poor taste. I would expct a statement like that to come from a drunk DJ. Not the POTUS! But no one questions his intellect. He’s very smart. Extremely intelligent. But recently the American people saw the beginnings of a plan and are about to see the rest of the plan. And this plan will make Trump look not nearly as smart as he once looked. Her name is Nancy. And she just said “checkmate!”  

We really aren’t giving this beautiful young woman enough credit for being the genius that she is. Think about it. She could start all of these impeachment hearings any time. But she waits until September 2019. Why? Well, she figured the vote would come right before the holiday break for the government. She was right. Then she figured once the vote took place in the House, obviously in favor of Democrats who hold the majority, that there’s no way to beat the republican senate majority. And she’s right again. So Ms. Genius knew she could just hold on to the articles of impeachment until after the election because 23 republican senator seats are up for election. Once they gain the majority of the senate, she comes forward with the articles to the democrat controlled senate for trial and subsequently removes the newly elected 2nd term president. It. Is. Genius! Brilliant! I’m personally in awe of her brains. Not kidding. Obviously, i’m merely guessing at all of this, but this makes the most sense.

Upside: Impeachment is a process, not a vote. In order for impeachment to be reached, there has to be a vote. Then they have to have managers deliver and declare the articles of impeachment before the senate. At that point, he is then “impeached” … or “accused”. The senate then holds a trial and eventually settles the debate on whether the accused is guilty of the charges against him. We’re a long way from all of this.  

Downside: with this plan, she has made it perfectly obvious that people don’t matter. American people don’t matter. Nothing matters more than winning in Politics. That’s it. Regardless of who it steps on in the process. The American people, the constitution, doesn’t matter. If you’re in her way, you will be eliminated. And everyone gets to see this unfold.

Another downside: the American people aren’t going to take this lying down. They’re going to resist. This will get ugly before it gets better.

Another downside: her colleagues aren’t nearly as smart as she is. They cheered when impeachment was announced. She didn’t. She pretended much better than they did. She waited until later to celebrate with her not-so-brilliant colleagues. Her colleagues also kept saying the reason they weren’t giving the republicans their fair say at the hearing was because speed was of utmost importance. Pelosi didn’t say that. Because she’s smart. She already knew her plan that was devised in 2016. They weren’t smart enough to figure all this out. So they kept saying “speed!” And “got to get this done quickly!” Then once they got the vote, the need for speed vanished. Amazing how that works. (Double standards usually preclude an unethical agenda/motive). Now she’s doing something that has never been done and certainly was never done during Clinton’s impeachment. Something that is grossly unconstitutional. She’s withholding the articles of impeachment. She knows that there’s really no designated time frame to release them. So she’ll say that she’s waiting until the republicans do exactly what she says. Which won’t happen.  And she knew that! The elephants are playing right into her pretty little brilliant hands.


One day there’s going to be a section of political science classes called “The Pelosi Effect” where students have to devise a fool proof plan to win at ALL COST! And if they consider the American people during this, at all, they fail!

For now, we’re left to admire the wit, brilliance, and utter intellectual superiority known as Nancy Pelosi. She may be the only person in the country to outsmart Trump at his own game. My hat’s off to you Madame Mumbler… I mean speaker.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger