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Dear Members and Friends:
Today is "Bill of Rights Day" in honor of the
signing of the first 10 amendments to our United
States Constitution.
Newly independent, the thirteen States were
concerned their new government may become too
powerful, as King George's was. They insisted
handcuffs be place on the power of the Federal
Government. We call these the First Ten
Amendments or Bill of Rights, ratified DECEMBER
15, 1791.
The UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION and the BILL OF
RIGHTS are perhaps the greatest government
documents ever written. Every American
should read it.
This day was signed into practice by President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt on December 15, 1941,
one hundred and fifty years after the actual
signing of the Bill of Rights by our
forefathers. Ironically, he proclaimed the
holiday just one week after the Japanese bombed
Pearl Harbor initiating the United States'
involvement in World War II where freedom issues
were at the core of wartime dogma.
The Bill of Rights was important in the founding
of the United States because of the depravity
experienced by many of the immigrants.
While the U.S. Constitution was written in 1787,
it wasn't until two years later that the ten Bill
of Rights were incorporated into the governing
document.
The Bill of Rights is itself a separate document,
incorporated into the United States Constitution
via the amendment process.
The First states: "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances."
Regarding this, Thomas Jefferson wrote to Samuel
Miller, January 23, 1808: "I consider the
government of the U.S. as interdicted by the
Constitution from intermeddling with religious
institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or
exercises. This results not only from the
provision that no law shall be made respecting
the establishment or free exercise of religion,
but from that also which reserves to the states
the powers not delegated to the U.S." Jefferson
continued: "Every religious society has a right
to determine for itself the times for these
exercises, and the objects proper for them,
according to their own particular tenets."
The ten Bill of Rights are summarized as:
- Freedom of Religion
- The right to bear arms.
- Consent to house soldiers
- No unreasonable searches or seizures
- No self incrimination, due process
- Jury trial for all, public defense
- In common law, right of jury trial
- No excessive bail or cruel and unusual
punishment
- Constitution cannot deny rights of others
- Governmental power default to the states
In honor of our "Bill of Rights", we at the
Constitution Party of Texas take this time to
call our fellow Texans to order and to run for
office. Please be aware of the following
deadlines fast approaching:
Notice to all members:
DEADLINE APPROACHES FOR FILING FOR
OFFICE
If you want to run for any office in 2010, you
must file for that office with the State or
County officials. The deadline is January
4. If you want to run on the Constitution
Party platform, please contact the Texas State
Chairman, Bryan Malatesta, immediately. All
candidates need to know that their hopes of being
on the ballot, as a CP candidate, depend entirely
on the party's ability to gain ballot access
statewide.
If you want to help with the petition campaign
for ballot access, we are looking for County
Coordinators and volunteers now. That
process takes place immediately following the
Primary Election on March 2, 2010.
Our office has received numerous requests for
information on filing requirements. If you choose
to file as an Independent candidate, you will be
required to petition for access to the ballot,
but it will be far easier than a statewide
petition effort. The advantage to this is
that, once qualified, you will be guaranteed to
be on the ballot in November, regardless of the
party's ballot access status. Most offices,
particularly county offices, require
approximately 500 names on a petition, which is a
piece of cake.
You can learn more about filing requirements
here.
For God, Family and the Republic,
Bryan Malatesta
chairman@cptexas.us
www.cptexas.us
ps: Thanks to http://www.holidayorigins.com/
and http://americanminute.com/
for contributing information on this historical
day!
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