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The other thing that was wrong with Jay Carney’s comment

Both quotes used come from the Virginia Ratifying Convention:

“The extent of the United States cannot render this government oppressive.  The powers of the general government are only of a general nature, and their object is to protect, defend, and strengthen the United States; but the internal administration of government is left to the state legislatures, who exclusively retain such powers as will give the states the advantages of small republics, without the danger commonly attendant on the weakness of such governments.”

Francis Corbin

“The powers of the general government relate to external objects, and are but few.  But the powers in the states relate to those great objects which immediately concern the prosperity of the people.  Let us observe, also, that the powers in the general government are those which will be exercised mostly in time of war, while those of the state governments will be exercised in time of peace.”

James Madison

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2 Comments

  1. All those people who had jobs on ARPANET (DARPA) (government and corporate contract) before it became the INTERNET probably appreciated all that government subsidy before it was capable of being a profit-making private sector enterprise.

    Now, of course, securing the INTERNET because it has become so integral to America’s strategic infrastructure that, once again, government public monies will subsidize large scale programs to protect.

    There are also a lot of profitable things that fell out of the people-subsidized Space Program over decades… basically that was the public monies of the American People creating the economic environment of today (maybe starting with the transistor radio) that we all take for granted as private sector enterprise.

    The Constitution establishes government by-and-for We-The-People. The Constitution cannot protect you from anything. The original Constitution sanctioned slavery and fractional census of slaves for voting purposes.

    You protect yourself by participating in the unstable, anarchy-in-a-bottle process established by the Constitution, and by participation in social movements that align with the higher ideals stated in foundational documents like the Declaration and The Constitution of the United States.

    The Constitution talks about the role of government in forming a “more perfect union”, “(providing) defense”, “promoting general welfare”, and regulating that which affects interstate and international commerce. That rubric covers a lot of ground, and it is up to the American People, through their apparatus, called “government” to establish the particulars.

    If for example you question the function of the Federal Government to provide the Social Security program, you are not questioning Constitutional limits, but rather the wisdom of people who lived through the Great Depression, voted, and generally thought that whole thing was a good idea.

    If the Constitution establishes Government by-and-for We The People, then suggesting the Constitution limits the scope of government implies it limits the collective discretion of the American People to have government act on its behalf.

    The American People have the right to change the Constitution itself… and they have certainly in the area of Civil Rights in a number historical epochs.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET

    By the way, I understood completely Carney’s remarks, and if you go back and listen he said exactly this:

    Romney~Bain : Investment responsibility to private sector share-holders… profit oriented; could be long or short term profit oriented.

    Obama-POTUS : Investment (like DARPA would operate under the Executive) investment responsibility for the interests of the American People (even if they cannot be profitable within the private sector short term). Most American’s realize that while short-term (25-75 years) existing energy infrastructure will be used. However, long term investment, research and development in alternatives are necessary. That would be the realm in which Obama would be operating . Perhaps the money spent should not have gone directly to private sector for development (premature). Perhaps advanced energy R & D should be the province of Public Sector programs, until, like ARPANET, it is sufficiently mature for the private sector to operate and profit with.

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