Does the Oath of Office Mean Anything?
United States congressmen in both the House of Representatives and the Senate are required to take the following oath prior to assuming their elected position.
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.
One would presume that this oath is taken in all seriousness and with the full intention to abide by the contents; however, this is called into question when we consider an increasing number of bills passed by Congress and signed into law by the President that are outside the intent of the United States Constitution specifically Article I, Section 8 which spells out the powers of Congress.
Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States;…..
The Constitution goes on to spell out clearly the limited duties of Congress. The Tenth Amendment further clarifies these restrictions.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Some Congressmen point to the general welfare clause of Section 8 as a source for their expanded powers; however, this thought should be dispelled when we consider the words of James Madison, considered by many to be the Father of our Constitution.
“With respect to the words ‘general welfare’ I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character not contemplated by its creators.”
This expanded role of the federal government can be seen in several recently passed or current congressional bills. Three examples are the so-called stimulus bill, the latest “hate crimes” legislation which was attached to the Defense Bill to help assure passage and the current health care bills before Congress. These three, and countless others passed and signed into law, are clearly beyond the constitutional limits of Congress. This expansion of federal government powers began in earnest during the Great Depression and continues unabated.
When will it end? Only when we demand that our congressmen respect the United States Constitution as written and intended by our Founding Fathers and not as a “living” document; and when we demand that they take seriously their oath of office. This can be done most effectively at the ballot box.
Regional Water Supply Plan
The following is a summary of a report presented recently to the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority Board. The report was prepared and presented by Tammy Baker, a Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) Water Conservation Analyst.
SWFWMD is comprised of four regions – Northern, Tampa Bay, Heartland and Southern
The northern region includes Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion (western half) and Sumter counties.
Mrs. Baker’s report highlighted water demand projections by regions with details about the five counties in the northern region. Water usage as measured by millions of gallons per day (mgd) during 2005 was used as the base with projections to the year 2030.
As expected, the Tampa Bay region had the highest daily usage in 2005 and is projected to remain the same in 2030. Although our region (northern) ranked lowest in both years, we are projected to have the highest percentage of increase (56%) by 2030. Projections are based on the most recent 5 year average of daily usage.
Among the five counties in our region, the projected increase in Sumter County is the highest by far. From the base figure of 14.6mgd to 36.7mgd which represents a 151% increase. The largest portion of that increase is for public supply.
SWFWMD currently recommends a daily use per resident of 150 gallons. In 2018 that recommendation will become a requirement of SWFWMD.
Meanwhile, we all have a responsibility to be conscientious water users.
Quotes of Thomas Jefferson
