My Letter to Chet Edwards
March 19th, 2009
Mr. Chet Edwards
U.S. Representative
17th District of Texas
2369 Rayburn Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4311
Mr. Edwards:
Are we the United States a society governed by mob mentality or the rule of law? While I find the bonuses paid to AIG executives troubling, I find even more outrage in the behavior of politicians on the hill. Since the issue of punitive taxation was raised recently I have become completely disillusioned with the efficacy of our current government and your understanding of the limits on power. This disillusionment has been gradually increasing over the past year and a half and has finally reached a boiling point!
Have you or your colleagues actually read the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Federalist papers? Have you done so with the express purpose of circumventing the intentions of our founding fathers, thus circumventing the rule of law?
Your behavior and the behavior of others on the hill, both republican and democrat, is the very essence of tyranny. How can we be a land of liberty with our legislature attempting bills of attainder and ex post facto laws? Let me give you a quotation from the Federalist no 84:
“… the subjecting of men to punishment for things which, when they were done, were breaches of no law…have been in all ages the favourite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.” (emphasis mine)
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804)
Would you not say that your proposed bill is just such an act of tyranny forbidden by Article I of the constitution (aptly labeled limits on Congress)? Do you see the power of the legislature as truly unlimited to the point that you can trample on the rule of law and the people? Is this not a violation of the public trust? You claim that forcing AIG to breach these contracts is out of necessity? “Necessity,” as William Pitt put it, “is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is argument of tyrants.”
As Hamilton puts it in Federalist no 44 “laws impairing the obligation of contracts, are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation.” You do realize that the Constitution is a social contract? A contract providing the government (and yourself) express, enumerated powers? Perhaps it makes sense then, given then trampling of this document in recent years, that the Congress has utter contempt for the obligations of contracts!
While I have voted for you in the past for the 17th Congressional district of Texas, rest assured that, save your immediate resignation of office, I will be applying all of my energies and diligence to ensure that you do not continue to represent us in the future.
"We, the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution."
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Sincerely,
Luke Addington
Mr. Chet Edwards
U.S. Representative
17th District of Texas
2369 Rayburn Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4311
Mr. Edwards:
Are we the United States a society governed by mob mentality or the rule of law? While I find the bonuses paid to AIG executives troubling, I find even more outrage in the behavior of politicians on the hill. Since the issue of punitive taxation was raised recently I have become completely disillusioned with the efficacy of our current government and your understanding of the limits on power. This disillusionment has been gradually increasing over the past year and a half and has finally reached a boiling point!
Have you or your colleagues actually read the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Federalist papers? Have you done so with the express purpose of circumventing the intentions of our founding fathers, thus circumventing the rule of law?
Your behavior and the behavior of others on the hill, both republican and democrat, is the very essence of tyranny. How can we be a land of liberty with our legislature attempting bills of attainder and ex post facto laws? Let me give you a quotation from the Federalist no 84:
“… the subjecting of men to punishment for things which, when they were done, were breaches of no law…have been in all ages the favourite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.” (emphasis mine)
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804)
Would you not say that your proposed bill is just such an act of tyranny forbidden by Article I of the constitution (aptly labeled limits on Congress)? Do you see the power of the legislature as truly unlimited to the point that you can trample on the rule of law and the people? Is this not a violation of the public trust? You claim that forcing AIG to breach these contracts is out of necessity? “Necessity,” as William Pitt put it, “is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is argument of tyrants.”
As Hamilton puts it in Federalist no 44 “laws impairing the obligation of contracts, are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation.” You do realize that the Constitution is a social contract? A contract providing the government (and yourself) express, enumerated powers? Perhaps it makes sense then, given then trampling of this document in recent years, that the Congress has utter contempt for the obligations of contracts!
While I have voted for you in the past for the 17th Congressional district of Texas, rest assured that, save your immediate resignation of office, I will be applying all of my energies and diligence to ensure that you do not continue to represent us in the future.
"We, the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution."
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Sincerely,
Luke Addington
Labels: AIG, banking crisis, bonuses, Federal Government
posted by Cogito at 7:57 AM
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