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You are here: Home / Archives for u.s. constitution

Does Democracy Balance the Income and Influence Equation?

Originally published December 10, 2011, By Shellinda. Updated July 21, 2015. 5 Comments

Does Democracy Balance the Income and Influence Equation?

Members of the Occupy Lincoln group noticed our recent article, “

Filed Under: Budget, City of Lincoln, Featured, Grassroots in Nebraska, In the News, Legal Limit, Local, Nebraska Tagged With: "evil corporations", a republic if you can keep it, bailout, bailouts, barack obama, benjamin franklin, cir nebraska, city attorney rod confer, City of Lincoln, city of lincoln municipal code, class warfare, collectivism, communal service, corporate greed, corporations, cost of public employees, democracy vs republic, eat the rich, economic justice, fair share, fdr, federal reserve, federalist papers, follow the money, franklin delano roosevelt, goldman sachs, great society, harry truman, inequality hurts democracy, injustice, james madison, james madison federalist no. 10, lbj, liberty verus security, limited constitutional, lyndon baines johnson, milton friedman, milton friedman on greed, money in politics, new deal policies, occupy evictions, occupy lincoln, occupy lincoln tipi, occupy movement, occupy wall street, organized labor, plymouth colony, public employee unions, redistribution of wealth, rev. al sharpton, social democracy, social equity, social justice, socialism, square deal, stimulus, tarp, tax the rich, taxpayer funded lobbying, taxpayer-funded lobby groups, teddy roosevelt, the ninety-nine percent, toby keith, top one percent, top political contributors, troubled asset relief program, u.s. constitution, united states republic, war on poverty, welfare inequality, william bradford, woodrow wilson

So We Had A Resolution, Huh? Hmm. How IS That State Sovereignty Thing Workin’ Out For Us?

Originally published November 8, 2011, By Shellinda. Updated July 21, 2015. 2 Comments

So We Had A Resolution, Huh? Hmm. How IS That State Sovereignty Thing Workin’ Out For Us?

Last updated, September 2014 Nebraska was one of only fourteen states to see the successful passage of a State Sovereignty Resolution in the two year period 2009 – 2010, while well over thirty states had resolutions. In other words,

Filed Under: Big Brother Government, Budget, Constitution, Data Gathering, Electronic Monitoring, Featured, Federal Legislation, Founding Principles, Government Spending, Governor, Health Care, Information Sharing, Like Drunken Sailors, Nebraska, REAL ID, Senators, State Legislation, State Sovereignty, Tenth Amendment, Unicameral Tagged With: 10th Amendment, 2009 permit application transcanada, afp-ne, american sovereignty, americans for prosperity, americans for prosperity-nebraska, annette dubas, annette dubas transcanada payment, atkinson state dept. hearing, bad faith legal argument, beau mccoy, bitumen, canadian neb, charles and david koch, charles koch, chris langemeier, cir, collective bargaining for public employees, commission of industrial relations, dave heineman, david koch, deb fischer, definition of public purpose, eminent domain, energy security, environmental groups, ex post facto, fischer real id, flint hills resources, foreign trade zone, ftc investigation canadian market manipulation, gas prices, governor heineman, gulf coast, hardisty alberta canada, healthcare implementation, heavy crude, heineman, holt county nebraska, illinois, indiana, interim study report natural resources, interstate commerce, iowa, j. peter ricketts, job creation, jon bruning, kansas, kate sullivan, kelo v new london, ken haar, kentucky, keystone xl, keystone xl market manipulation, keystone xl pipeline project, keystone xl pipeline section 52 application, koch foundation, koch industries, labors local #1140, lee terry, lee terry congressional research service, lee terry crs, life liberty property, lobbying on pipeline, michigan, midwest padd ii, midwestern states gas prices, mike friend, minnesota, missouri, national energy board canada, national id card, national interest, natural resources committee, ne congressman lee terry, nebraska, nebraska attorney general, nebraska eminent domain, nebraska kelo law, nebraska legislature, nebraska sovereignty, north american made energy security act, north dakota, nullification, ogallala aquifer, ohio, oklahoma, padd iii, padd iii region, pete ricketts, philip verleger, pipeline regulatory, pipeline siting authority, platte institute, politics makes strange bedfellows, presidential permit application, proper role of government, property rights, public employee unions, public service commission, real id, representative lee terry, rod kaminski, sandhills, sen. dubas, sen. tony fulton, sen.fulton, senator annette dubas, shareholder presentations, south dakota, special law, special legislation, special session nebraska, special session pipeline, startribune, state director afp-ne, state senators, state sovereignty, synthetic crude, tar sands, tennessee, Tenth Amendment, tony fulton, transcanada, transcanada market manipulation, transportation and telecommunications committee, u.s. constitution, u.s. state department, uncamerical, usgc, waiting for godot, wisconsin

Is President Obama Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

Originally published November 5, 2011, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated July 21, 2015. 14 Comments

Is President Obama Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

I’ve received some feedback on the most recent article published here “TransCanada Trojan Horse: Keystone XL Pipeline Will Increase Gas Prices“. That feedback confirms my earlier concerns about the use of environmentalist rhetoric in the pipeline project debate. That feedback also confirms that anyone else interested in running for Miss Popularity in the state need […]

Filed Under: Federal, Governor, Nebraska, Senators, Sovereignty, State Legislation, State Sovereignty, Unicameral Tagged With: 2009 permit application transcanada, afp-ne, american sovereignty, americans for prosperity, annette dubas, atkinson state dept. hearing, bad faith legal argument, beau mccoy, bitumen, canadian neb, charles and david koch, charles koch, chris langemeier, dave heineman, david koch, definition of public purpose, eminent domain, energy security, environmental groups, ex post facto, flint hills resources, foreign trade zone, ftc investigation canadian market manipulation, gas prices, gulf coast, hardisty alberta canada, heavy crude, holt county nebraska, illinois, indiana, interim study report natural resources, interstate commerce, iowa, j. peter ricketts, job creation, kansas, kate sullivan, kelo v new london, ken haar, kentucky, keystone xl, keystone xl market manipulation, keystone xl pipeline project, keystone xl pipeline section 52 application, koch foundation, koch industries, labors local #1140, lee terry, lee terry congressional research service, lee terry crs, life liberty property, michigan, midwest padd ii, midwestern states gas prices, mike friend, minnesota, missouri, national energy board canada, national interest, ne congressman lee terry, nebraska, nebraska eminent domain, nebraska kelo law, nebraska legislature, nebraska sovereignty, north american made energy security act, north dakota, ogallala aquifer, ohio, oklahoma, padd iii, padd iii region, pete ricketts, philip verleger, pipeline regulatory, pipeline siting authority, platte institute, politics makes strange bedfellows, presidential permit application, proper role of government, property rights, representative lee terry, rod kaminski, sandhills, shareholder presentations, south dakota, special law, special legislation, special session nebraska, startribune, state director afp-ne, state senators, state sovereignty, synthetic crude, tar sands, tennessee, Tenth Amendment, transcanada, transcanada market manipulation, u.s. constitution, u.s. state department, uncamerical, usgc, wisconsin

TransCanada Trojan Horse: Keystone XL Pipeline Will Increase Gas Prices

Originally published November 2, 2011, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated April 27, 2017. 13 Comments

TransCanada Trojan Horse: Keystone XL Pipeline Will Increase Gas Prices

As we’ve noted repeatedly in our articles on the subject, our primary interest in the Keystone XL pipeline project was the conduct of Nebraska’s elected officials at both the state and federal levels, and serious concerns about property rights. We did not have an overall position on the project and we did not recommend any […]

Filed Under: Featured, Federal Legislation, Governor, Lee Terry, Nebraska, Senators, State Legislation, Unicameral Tagged With: 2009 permit application transcanada, afp-ne, american sovereignty, americans for prosperity, annette dubas, atkinson state dept. hearing, bad faith legal argument, beau mccoy, bitumen, canadian neb, charles and david koch, charles koch, chris langemeier, dave heineman, david koch, definition of public purpose, eminent domain, energy security, environmental groups, ex post facto, flint hills resources, foreign trade zone, ftc investigation canadian market manipulation, gas prices, gulf coast, hardisty alberta canada, heavy crude, holt county nebraska, illinois, indiana, interim study report natural resources, interstate commerce, iowa, j. peter ricketts, job creation, kansas, kate sullivan, kelo v new london, ken haar, kentucky, keystone xl, keystone xl market manipulation, keystone xl pipeline project, keystone xl pipeline section 52 application, koch foundation, koch industries, labors local #1140, lee terry, lee terry congressional research service, lee terry crs, life liberty property, michigan, midwest padd ii, midwestern states gas prices, mike friend, minnesota, missouri, national energy board canada, national interest, ne congressman lee terry, nebraska, nebraska eminent domain, nebraska kelo law, nebraska legislature, nebraska sovereignty, north american made energy security act, north dakota, ogallala aquifer, ohio, oklahoma, padd iii, padd iii region, pete ricketts, philip verleger, pipeline regulatory, pipeline siting authority, platte institute, politics makes strange bedfellows, presidential permit application, proper role of government, property rights, representative lee terry, rod kaminski, sandhills, shareholder presentations, south dakota, special law, special legislation, special session nebraska, startribune, state director afp-ne, state senators, state sovereignty, synthetic crude, tar sands, tennessee, Tenth Amendment, transcanada, transcanada market manipulation, u.s. constitution, u.s. state department, uncamerical, usgc, wisconsin

NE Unicameral on TransCanada Pipeline: Torturing Words, Logic & State Sovereignty

Originally published October 7, 2011, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated October 11, 2011. 2 Comments

NE Unicameral on TransCanada Pipeline: Torturing Words, Logic & State Sovereignty

“It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that […]

Filed Under: Deserving of Darts, Featured, Federal, Grassroots in Nebraska, Lee Terry, Nebraska, Senators, State Legislation, State Sovereignty, Unicameral Tagged With: Ben Nelson, congressional research service, congressional research service september 2010, congressman fortenberry, congressman jeff fortenberry, congressman lee terry, congressman terry, crs september 2010, december 2010 natural resources commitee report, definition of "siting", election 2012, federal authority oil pipelines, federal authority pipelines, federal energy subsidies, federalist no. 62, federalist papers, fortenberry primary challengers, green energy subsidies, james madison, keystone kickback, keystone pipeline route, keystone xl pipeline, keystone xl pipeline project, langemeier siting, meaning of "siting", mike johanns, natural resources committee, ne legislature natural resources committee, ne lr435 interim study, ne natural resources committee hearing transcanada pipeline project, ne redistricting committee, ne sen. ken haar, ne senator kate sullivan, ne unicameral, nebraska eminent domain, nebraska lb629, nebraska legislature, nebraska legislature lr435, nebraska redistricting, nebraska sen. tony fulton, nebraska sovereignty, nebraska state officials, nebraska state senator annette dubas, nebraska state senator kate sullivan, nebraska state sovereignty, nebraska tenth amendment, nebraska unicameral, nebraska wind energy, pipeline federal issue, pipeline nebraska authority, pipeline state law, rep jeff fortenberry, rep. lee terry, rep. terry, represenative lee terry, sen. annette dubas, sen. annette subas, sen. kate sullivan, sen. mark christensen, sen. tom carlson, senator annette dubas, senator chris langemeier, senator deb fischer, senator jim smith, senator ken haar, state authority gas pipelines, state authority siting pipelines, state senator colby coash, state senator deb fischer, state senator ken haar, state senator ken schliz, state senator mark christensen, state senator tony fulton, state sovereignty, the federalist, tom carlson, transcanada eminent domain, transcanada letter, transcanada pipeline, u.s. constitution, Unicameral, voluminous laws, wind energy

Deserving of Darts: President Obama and “Some rigid idea”

Originally published September 9, 2011, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated March 9, 2012. Leave a Comment

Deserving of Darts: President Obama and “Some rigid idea”

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Filed Under: Constitution, Deserving of Darts, Featured, Federal, Founding Principles, Progressivism, Radicalism, Stimulus Tagged With: barack obama, chicago public radio 2001 interview, february 2009 stimulus bill, living constitution, living constitutionalism, medicare, obama constitution, obama positive rights, obama some rigid idea, obama some rigid idea about government, omaha diversity manuals, omaha stimulus funds, originalism, President barack obama, president obama's jobs speech, rick perry, rick perry ponzi scheme, social security, stimulus medical records technology, supreme court justice antonin scalia, the american jobs act, the gin joint, u.s. constitution

Moral High Ground: It’s Not Just for Progressives Anymore

Originally published August 11, 2011, By Linda. Updated May 26, 2013. 9 Comments

Moral High Ground: It’s Not Just for Progressives Anymore

In what was overall a very thoughtful, well-delivered speech, Sen. Marco Rubio reacted to the passage of the bill increasing the debt ceiling by describing two competing visions for the future of our country. “Patriotic, country-loving Americans can disagree on their future vision of what kind of country we should be. But this division, this […]

Filed Under: Featured, History, Progressivism Tagged With: 19th amendment, alice paul, american political history, bill of rights, cannabis decriminalization, cannabis legalization, civil rights act, civil rights act of 1957, democrats, dennis prager morality of conservatism, fair labor standards act, great society, history of progressivism, homosexual rights, james madison, lbj, lyndon b. johnson, madison bill of rights, marco rubio liberalism, marco rubio speech, marco rubio youtube video, marijuana legalization, medicare, morality of conservatism, morality of progressives, mortality of progressivism, Nancy Pelosi, negative liberties, negative rights, pelosi save life on the planet, political history, political philosophies, political philosophy, positive liberties, positive rights, president dwight eisenhower, president eisenhower, president lyndon johnson, president wilson, progressivism, rubio morality of policy, rubio progressivism, social security, u.s. constitution, voting rights act, welfare society, women voting, women's suffrage, women's voting rights, woodrow wilson

Increasing Executive Power: Progressively Making Congress Irrelevant

Originally published August 4, 2011, By Linda. Updated May 4, 2018. Leave a Comment

Increasing Executive Power: Progressively Making Congress Irrelevant

Author’s Note: This article was originally drafted in mid-June, before the debt ceiling debacle even began to unfold.  I have revised parts of the article to reflect events which have occurred in the interim, but I want to point out that the deal Congress just passed with respect to the debt ceiling is yet another […]

Filed Under: Congress, Featured, Federal Tagged With: 111th congress, balance and separation of powers, barack obama, boeing, bureaucracy, bureaucratic experts, cap and trade, card check legislation, clean air act, congressional approval ratings, congressional oversight, constitutional republic, consumer financial protection bureau, cpfb, debt ceiling bill, debt ceiling deal, debt ceiling debacle, debt deal 14th amendment, debt limit debacle, debt-limit bill, department of health and human services, dodd-frank financial regulation, education secretary arne duncan, elizabeth warren, environmental protection agency, epa, epa greenhouse gases, executive branch, executive branch of u.s. government, federal department of education, federal reserve, George W. Bush, health care law, health care waivers, legislating away legislative authority, legislative branch, libya, lyndon johnson, mcconnell plan 14th amendment, military involvement in libya, mortgage meltdown, national labor relations board, no child left behind, nrlb, obamacare, president obama, progressive, progressivism, promulgation of rules, richard nixon, right to work, select committee, senator mitch mcconnell, separation of powers doctrine, south carolina, subverting the constitution, super committee, super congress, technocrats, u.s. congress, u.s. constitution, u.s. forces in libya, u.s. military actions, unionization, unions, united states congress, vietnam, war powers act

Deserving of Darts: Debt Ceiling Trial Balloons From Dems and GOP

Originally published July 18, 2011, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated September 7, 2014. 1 Comment

Deserving of Darts: Debt Ceiling Trial Balloons From Dems and GOP

Considering that most of the wheeling and dealing involved in government goes on behind closed doors, more likely than not, most of what we Americans hear and see playing out in the media is simply maneuvering. These P.R. battles seem to provide politicians the ability to “throw some red meat” to their respective bases of […]

Filed Under: Budget, Deficit, Featured, Federal, Government Spending, Taxes Tagged With: 14th amendment, 14th amendment debt ceiling, balance of powers, bipartisan gangs, bipartisanship, boehner's obama gamble, budget cuts, bush tax cuts, call democrats bluff, chuck schumer, chuckie schumer, circumventing constitution, class warfare, clinton gingrich government shut down, congress closed door meetings, corporate jets, cutting federal government, debate, debt ceiling, debt ceiling debate, debt ceiling scare tactics, debt ceiling showdown, debt default, debt limit, debt limit negotiations, debt negotiations, democratic scare tactics, dick durbin, dollar compared to gold, eat the rich, economic collapse, economic uncertainty, federal spending, financial market stability, gang of six, government shut down, government spending, grand bargain, grand bargain on debt limit, green jobs, harry reid, hatchet vs scalpel, health care law, high speed rail, history of debt limit increases, history of dollar value, house of representatives, interest payments on national debt, john boehner, lame duck session of congress, legislative functions, legislative powers, mcconnell debt limit proposal, michael bennett, mitch mcconnell, money bubble, obama - boehner, obama raise debt ceiling, obamacare, political maneuvering, political trial balloons, politicians hot air, powers of legislative branch, president obama, president social security, prioritizing spending, regime uncertainity, revenue and appropriations bills, scalpel vs hatchet, senate minority leader, senator lindsey graham, separation of powers, separation of powers doctrine, social security, speaker boehner, speaker john boehner, spending cuts, stimulus funds, tax hikes, tax the rick, tim geithner, timothy geithner, treasury secretary geithner, u.s. constitution, u.s. debt interest, u.s. default, u.s. house of representatives, u.s. tax revenues, unspent stimulus money, value of u.s. dollar, why republicans lose debates

Immigration a State or Federal Issue? Birthright Citizenship & the 14th Amendment

Originally published March 3, 2011, By Shellinda. Updated March 9, 2011. 5 Comments

Immigration a State or Federal Issue? Birthright Citizenship & the 14th Amendment

The Nebraska Unicameral session has been in full (fast, furious) swing since its opening on January 5. We’ve been taking a look at some of the many bills that have been introduced, including Senator Charlie Janssen’s LB48, which many people have characterized as “Arizona-style immigration law”, referencing the controversial SB1070. The hearings were held on […]

Filed Under: Constitution, Featured, Founding Principles Tagged With: 102nd session unicameral, 14th amendment, 2008 absolut vodka ad, absolut reconquista, absolut vodka ad, article I section 8, birthright citizenship, civil rights, civil rights act of 1866, civil war, Constitution, delegated powers, dred scott decision, elk v wilkins, enforcing laws, federal, federal jurisdiction, foreign nationals, foreigners, fourteenth amendment, history of 14th amendment, history of immigration law, immigration, immigration sovereignty, janssen lb48, jurisdiction, lb48, Legislation, lr39, national humanities institute, naturalization, ne immigration bill, ne lb48, ne legislature, nebraska immigration, nebraska lb48, nebraska legislature, property rights, reconquista, senator charlie janssen, state jurisdiction, state sovereignty, supreme court cases, u.s. constitution, Unicameral, us immigration laws, us supreme court, us v wong kim ark, voting rights

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Nebraska 2018 Primary Election Sample Ballots

Nebraska 2018 Primary Election Sample Ballots

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