September 1, 2008
by Steve Osborn

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

That is the oath taken by every Congressman and Senator at the start of their term, and at the beginning of each session of Congress. The President of the United States takes an even shorter oath, which is specified in article II, Section 1. of the Constitution.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Please note: That oath is to the Constitution, not the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, the abolition of Habeas Corpus, the various surveillance acts, the Homeland Security Act, the Torture and Renditions acts, the repeal of Posse Comitatus. It is to the Constitution of the United States, which includes the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights.

That Constitution was carefully drafted by the founding fathers of our nation, to establish the basic operation of our government.

    * Article I of the Constitution spells out the structure and requirements of the House of Representatives and Senate (the Congress) and what powers they have.
    * Article II establishes the Office of the Presidency and delineates his powers and limitations.
    * Article III pertains to the establishment and maintenance of the Judicial power of the government (the Supreme Court).

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The first ten amendments were added to the Constitution at the time of ratification and are called the Bill of Rights. Those ten amendments were adopted to ensure that the government could never become a police state and run roughshod over the people. The colonists had had enough of autocratic power under Georgian England.

There is a process (Article V ) by which the Constitution can be changed. This has been done seventeen times since the original ratification. The method is very carefully spelled out and the people have the final say.  The Tenth Amendment specifies that any power not given to the federal government by the Constitution is "reserved to the States, respectively, or to the People."  In short, if the Constitution doesn't specifically list a power, the federal government can't do it.

Nowhere in that Constitution does it allow the President, appointed or elected, to declare war at his whim, or remove the protection of the Bill of Rights from any person. What the Bush regime has done is clearly unconstitutional and any legislators who go along with him are also impeachable.  Thus, they're all clearly violating their oaths, as Bush has done since his appointment.

The Constitution of the United States of America provides for a system of checks and balances to keep any of the three branches from running amok, with We the People of the United States, through our representatives, having the final say over changes to that Constitution.

The American People should contact their various legislators, remind them of their oath, and inform them that they will not receive another vote unless they do their duty and uphold the Constitution they promised to protect and defend.

The United States stands at a crossroads, if it is not already too late.

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Stephen M. Osborn [send him email] is a freelance writer living on Camano Island in the Pacific Northwest. He is an "Atomic Vet." (Operation Redwing, Bikini Atoll 1956, ) who has been very active working and writing for nuclear disarmament and world peace. He is a retired Fire Battalion Chief, lifelong sailor, writer, poet, philosopher, historian and former newspaper columnist.

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