Today's Essay

What James Madison Teaches Us About NSA Surveillance

A federal district judge ruled on Monday (essay originally published December 18, 2013) that the National Security Agency program tracking all Americans' phone calls is "probably unconstitutional." In Klayman v. Obama, Judge Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that "such a program infringes on 'the degree of privacy' that the Founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment."

Appealing to the nation's founding ideals, he continues, "the author of our Constitution, James Madison, who cautioned us to beware 'the abridgment of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power,' would be aghast."

While Judge Leon spends mere sentences on this history, it is a crucial point that directly impacts pending cases challenging NSA Surveillance Programs....Click here to read more! 

Constitutional Crisis - How Executive Overreach is Impeding Your Liberties and Undermining States' Sovereignty: A Study on the Critical Erosion of Constitutional Checks and Balances.  

This year's topic focuses on examples of the dramatic expansion of executive branch power at the expense of both Congress and states' sovereignty - and explain why this is happening. It is, of course, happening due to the breakdown of the Constitutional checks and balances, and the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court are all at fault.