Let’s not mince words: I believe in a STRONG Federal government.
Period.
While no government is perfect, ours is becoming “a more perfect union” because of the Federal government, which is comprised of “we the people.”
It has rarely become more perfect because of states’ actions. It has been Federal actions which have unified the 50 states under a common banner – the Constitution.
As evidence of that, one only need look to history for examples.
It was the Federal government that abolished Slavery.
It was the Federal government that gave women the Right to Vote.
It was the Federal government that gave 18-year-olds the Right to Vote.
It was the Federal government that gave Blacks the Right to Vote, and the Civil Rights Act.
It was the Federal government that gave same sex partners the Right to Marry.
It was the Federal government that struck down anti-miscegenation laws.
It was the Federal government that protected children from sexual predators worldwide.
It was the Federal government that protected underage women from sexual exploitation in pornography.
It was the Federal government that protected Prisoners from sexual abuse.
And, it was the Federal government that protected people from housing discrimination.
The list is longer, but by now, you should get the point.
Government is NOT “the problem” – contrary to what Ronald Reagan said in his first Inaugural Address when he proclaimed that “government is the problem.”
For if government was the problem, then the solution to that problem would be the abolition of it – and that is anarchy, the absence of government.
So, the Federal government is not your enemy.
Because YOU are the Federal government.
YOU are “we the people.”
And in our nation, the people have the power, so… power to the people – right on!
Again, our nation is by no means perfect, but we are becoming a more perfect union because of what we do.
One of our nation’s enduring principles is equality under law, as ensconced in the 14th Amendment which states in pertinent part that in Section 1, that,
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States,
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,
are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.
No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;
nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.”
“Due process of law…” and “equal protection of the laws.”
Those two clauses have been instrumental in bringing equality and the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity since the 14th Amendment was ratified July 9, 1868.
So tell me, please why it is that blatant injustices like this still exist?
KC family had full-time jobs, but no one would rent to them. Can a proposed law help?
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article237281324.html
Until Tiana Caldwell was diagnosed with a second bout of ovarian cancer last year, her family’s finances and housing were stable. She had no idea they would be homeless within months.
She started treatment, and the bills piled up quickly. She and her husband, Derek, fell behind on their rent, and that summer they were evicted.
Tiana Caldwell and her family were evicted while they struggled to pay the rent as well as her medical bills from her ovarian cancer treatments. Because of that eviction, landlords refused to rent to them. Finally they have found a stable home. Jill Toyoshiba JToyoshiba@kcstar.com
“At one point, I did maybe think it would be better if I didn’t make it,” said Caldwell, who is now in remission. “I just couldn’t stop fighting, even when I thought that maybe that was what was best.”
After the eviction, the family was marked. The blemish on their record made landlords wary of renting to them, even though she and her husband held full-time jobs. After months of searching, they found a home and moved in, but on their first night, sewage backed up into the bathtub and toilet. Caldwell said the house was declared uninhabitable. The family was homeless once again.
For about six months, they lived in cheap hotels or stayed with her husband’s relatives. They tried to keep life as normal as possible for their 12-year-old son, AJ, but some things — like having his friends over — weren’t possible.
“He wasn’t able to do any of that, and he couldn’t tell anybody why because he was ashamed,” Caldwell said. “He didn’t want his friends to know.”
Caldwell’s family is just one of 9,000 households who face eviction each year in Jackson County, a rate housing advocates say is a crisis.
She joined KC Tenants, the organization pushing Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council to adopt a tenants bill of rights. …
Warm Southern Breeze 