In Nov 2005, former president George W. Bush reportedly said the U.S. Constitution was just a "goddamned piece of paper". Although that has since been discredited, he has been recorded on record as saying that things would be better in a dictatorship as long as he "was the dictator". The assaults on our Constitution have been a constant thread in the fabric of our country's history, and it is a testament to the strength of that document and the blueprint for democracy that it created that it still survives to this day. We tend to focus on those horrid policies and legislation that curtail the rights of citizens (Jim Crow laws, the Patriot Act, etc.), so it's good to see those occasions when steps are taken in the right direction.

The Republicans current raison d'etre is to protect and serve Business, more so than country and more so than their own regressive social agenda. Nowhere is this more evident than in the bank holiday for Big Business in Rep Paul Ryan's (R-WI) "Budget Proposal" (I put that term in quotes for good reason - it's been universally panned by anyone with any economic sense). The tacit permission contained therein for businesses to feed at the trough is based on the Republican mindset that Business = citizen, that Corporations have the same rights under our Constitution as people (based on a faulty SCOTUS ruling).

That may change if a proposed Constitutional Amendment gains traction and passes. The idea is to circumvent the court ruling and establish an amendment that clearly states only persons are entitled to Constitutional rights, not business entities. This deserves the support of every citizen of the United States, regardless of one's political ideology.

On a smaller scale, a US Court has upheld a stay against the implementation of Arizona's immigration law. In an apparently non-intentional bit of irony in a single sentence, Gov Brewer stated:

It was this sort of "sovereign" talk that led to the Civil War. This will likely go to the Supreme Court, who will hopefully bury it in the bad idea file.

Close to home for me, Mayor Vincent Gray and several DC council members were arrested Sunday for blocking the road in front of the Senate building. Their complaint? Besides the ongoing "taxation without representation" travesty, the budget compromise deprives DC of its ability to make decisions about its own tax money:

So Kudos to Mayor Gray and council members for making a stink about this. Our country was based on the notion that if we pay taxes we should have some say about how that money is spent. The people of DC have their purse strings held by congresspeople from everywhere BUT DC. It's against the spirit of our Consitution and needs to change. Mayor Gray seems to be literally putting his ass on the line for this cause.

Finally, former rivals John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) are teaming up to create a "Privacy Bill of Rights". While this could be a LOT more comprehensive, it's nonetheless a good start, and an indication of what can be accomplished for THE PEOPLE when partisanship is set aside.

With actions moving forward to ensure that the rights of We The People are not being subjected to They The Big Business or fear, and to gain a voice for the voiceless taxpayers, my cap is doffed to these fine people. I salute those that work to protect that "goddamn piece of paper".