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Peace Progress
A Monthly 97th District Update
July 2009
In this issue:
v Message from Chris
v Get Involved
v Mark Your Calendars
v Constituent Services
v New Media Services |
| Message From Chris
Happy Independence Day Week! I write to you not as a Republican, nor as a Democrat, but from the most bi-partisan of positions as an American and a Virginian. My goal is to help inform our community of the American doctrines of liberty and freedom rooted in Federalism and the nationwide efforts working to send a message to protect America's first and founding principles.
We are all familiar with the famous Gasden Flag with the words DON'T TREAD ON ME. This flag in many generations has represented a patriotic anxiety about the direction of government. But we may not all know that The Gadsden flag is a historical American flag with a yellow field depicting a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. In 1775, the flag was designed by and is named after American general and statesman Christopher Gadsden.
Unfortunately, many Americans are uninformed of other noteworthy or seminal events which fashioned together our great nation from several and similarly great states. An understanding, much less a working knowledge of the principle of Federalism, also interpreted as State Sovereignty, eludes our general population as well as those who are elected to seats of government and political authority. Over the past six months and some may argue a year or even twenty years the American people witnessed and condoned an enormous consolidation of power and authority in the federal government and in so doing the Obama Administration is accruing recording breaking debt. Further estimates place the cost of the President's Health Care Plan at over $1 Trillion for the next decade. Congress's Energy Tax could raise two or three times more than the original $646 Billion; Cap & Trade could be a $1.3 To $1.9 Trillion Energy Tax.
This amassing of debt will be visited on all of us and could lead to even greater dependence on - and control in Washington without regard to how states wish to manage themselves. These actions exhibit a contempt for how people hope to self-determine in a free market. But in many ways we get what we have asked for or at least let happen... leading to the erosion of the concept of state sovereignty expressed in the Tenth Amendment laid out by the Founders.
Economist Walter Williams wrote that:
"The Founders petitioned and pleaded with King George to get his boot off their throats. He ignored their petition and rightfully they declared a unilateral declaration of independence and went to war. Today it's the same story but it's Congressional usurpations against the rights of the people and the states that make King George's actions look like child's play. Our constitutional ignorance, coupled with the fact that we've become a nation of wimps, sissies and supplicants, has made us easy prey for Washington's tyrannical forces. But that might be changing. There is a long overdue re-emergence of American's characteristic spirit of rebellion."
This patriotic spirit begins with a desire to learn more about the origins of our republic. People are beginning to understand that much like the Second Amendment is designed to protect the citizen from the encroachments of the federal government, the Tenth Amendment stands in the gap for states (and citizens) by saying The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, Bill of Rights, December 15, 1791. Put another way, according to Williams, "...the clear constitutional message is that the federal government is a creature of the states - not the other way around." Walter E. Williams January 27, 1995"
The Amendment, which followed several years of debates on the size and scope of a consolidated governing entity, represents the federal political philosophy that "the national government is group of members bound together by covenant and its sovereignty is constitutionally divided between that central head or governing authority and constituent political units (like states). Federalism is a system in which the power to govern is shared between national and state governments." Wikipedia. Joseph Story, a Supreme Court Justice and a son of a member of the Sons of Liberty, in his Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833, said "... the state governments are, by the very theory of the constitution, essential constituent parts of the general government. They can exist without the latter, but the latter cannot exist without them." Do you think that it has become more of the opposite? Based on this growing concern that Virginia along with her sister states may lose its priority role in the structures of our American republic I introduced a resolution to acknowledge our concerns.
For more information on this legislation visit:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=091&typ=bil&val=hr61 In Virginia's American Revolution: From Dominion to Republic, 1776-1840 (Lexington Books, 2007), the author's primary purposes is to trace Federalism from the mid-1760s conflicts between Virginia and Great Britain down through the death of the last Virginia Founding Fathers in the late 1830s. He asserts that Virginia ratified the US Constitution under the express understanding that the powers of Congress would extend only to those that were, as Governor Edmund Randolph explained in the 1788 Richmond Ratification Convention, "expressly delegated." This idea of Virginia as primary and the central government and the Federal Government as secondary underlay the Revolution in Virginia and are reflected in the Federalist Farmer essays of the Anti Federalist papers attributed to Virginian Richard Henry Lee. Even the most ardent proponents of a federal government at the time, those who penned The Federalist Papers, a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution published between October 1787 and August 1788, advocated for the preservation of state sovereignty as necessary to the success of the nation. "But as the plan of the convention aims only at a partial union or consolidation, the State governments would clearly retain all the rights of sovereignty which they before had, and which were not, by that act, EXCLUSIVELY delegated to the United States." --Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 32
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite." --James Madison, Federalist No. 45
"Thus, each of the principal branches of the federal government will owe its existence more or less to the favor of the State governments, and must consequently feel a dependence, which is much more likely to beget a disposition too obsequious than too overbearing towards them." - James Madison, Federalist No. 45
Case law later expounded upon this fundamental principle of Federalism with respect to state sovereignty. Printz v. United States held that the federal system limits the ability of the federal government to use state governments as an instrument of the national government. But this traditional notion of federalism has devolved into "cooperative federalism," where Congress creates new state programs by affixing certain conditions to the receipt of funding. These coercive acts may become so intolerable that long-term sustainability is in real question, and the ultimate danger is the erosion of the principles of federalism whereby Virginia becomes, effectively, a constituency of a federal super state. I encourage you on this 4th of July to spend some time thinking about our founding principles of government and our freedom. If you care about these fundamental issues let me know. Happy Independence Day Week! |
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Mark Your Calendars
Caroline:
The Caroline County Agricultural Fair is excited to announce they now have a permanent location. The Fair will be moving in 2009 to its new site on Route 1 between Ladysmith and Carmel Church next to the Virginia Sports Complex. The fair runs July 22 thru July 26. Visit http://www.carolinefair.com/home for more details.
Hanover:
Hanover Tomato Festival, Saturday, July 11 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Pole Green Park, Mechanicsville, Virginia. Presented by the Black Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Hanover Parks & Recreation, The Herald Progress, and the Mechanicsville Local. Hanover's Most Celebrated Fruit Set to Make Another Appearance! Some folks like them red, some like them green. Some folks like them stewed, some like them fried. Regardless of how you like them, this is your chance to taste one of the best tasting tomatoes you could ever sink your teeth into. It's the Hanover Tomato!
Henrico:
Old-Fashioned 4th of July Celebration Sat, July 4, 1-5 p.m. Meadow Farm Museum/Crump Park For all ages. Free fun for the whole family! Join us for our spectacular event in celebration of America's Independence! Enjoy a multi-faceted array of festive entertainment and activities for the entire family. Activities will include musical entertainment, arts and crafts, face painting, a petting zoo for children, contests and games, pony rides, and two spectacular sky diving shows with Uncle Sam! Other highlights include a watermelon feast, Uncle Sam on stilts, Jonathan Austin the juggler, ice sculpture demonstration, a patriotic performance featuring a historic color guard, drum and fife music, and a period musket salute by Living History Associates, Ltd. Enjoy live entertainment by Matt Wigler, a 15-year-old blues and jazz piano sensation and "None of the Above" from North Carolina. Additional entertainment includes St. Catherine's a cappella group, Censations. You won't want to miss this spectacular talent! Tours of Meadow Farm Museum and the Orientation Center exhibits will be available. Concessions will be available for purchase. Information: Jeannie Murray, 501-5121. Free
King William:
It was a vision of Thomas T.H. Hill, a former Clerk of the Circuit Court, to create a museum for King William County. At his death in 1998, he left a sum of money to the King William Historical Society, of which he was a member. In 2005, the King William Historical Society set up the Museum Council composed of society members and citizens of the county. Following the building of the new Courts Building in 2004, the old Circuit Court Clerk's office was vacated and the county agreed to lease the space to the Historical Society for a museum. The museum's hours of operation are Saturday and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Appointments can be made during the week by calling Pat Fitzgerald, (804) 769-3919
King and Queen:
The Walkerton Day Parade. The Walkerton Day Parade is held each year on the first Saturday of August, with the crowning of "Miss Walkerton" after the parade. Contact Walkerton Community Fire Association for more details. Walkerton Community Fire Association P.O. Box 85, Walkerton, VA 23177. Located at the intersection of Route 629 and Route 634 in the village of Walkerton.
New Kent:
July 3 New Kent Rotary Evening at the Races. Enjoy the Independence Day fireworks, dinner and festivities. Tickets are available from any New Kent Rotary Member.
Spotsylvania:
Celebrate July 4th early! Come enjoy the fifth annual Independence Day celebration. Plans include a full day of diverse music, kids activities, historical tours, demonstrations, food vendors, and colonial re-enactors all capped by a first-class fireworks display. Festivities begin at 3:00 PM. FREE. Call 540-507-7540 for more information. Date/Hours: Sunday, June 28, 2009 (3:00 PM-10:00 PM).
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Constituent Services
I am always happy to assist residents of the 97th District in dealing with state agencies. As your Delegate, I want to make sure that your government is working for you and that your rights are respected. While I cannot require an agency to make a specific determination on your behalf, I am happy to assist you with cutting the red tape and getting you the answers you seek. My office can serve as a liaison between my constituents and the state.
My office takes the responsibility of serving seriously. My staff is available during the week to assist you with your concerns; I am also readily available. I encourage you to contact us. Please continue to contact me whenever you have concerns or issues of importance to our community and the Commonwealth.
I may be reached at:
Capitol Office:
PO Box 406
Richmond, VA 23218
Phone: 804-698-1097
Fax: 804-698-6797
District Office:
7494 Lee Davis Rd, Suite 16F
PO Box 819
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
Phone: 804-730-3737
Fax: 804-730-5049
E-mail: delcpeace@house.virginia.gov
***Please make note of the legislative e-mail address change. To insure consistency among all Virginia government entities, the General Assembly of Virginia is changing all website and email addresses from the 'state.va.us' naming convention to virginia.gov. Therefore our new e-mail address is delcpeace@house.virginia.gov | |
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New Media Services
If you have not done so already, please visit my NEW REDESIGNED website :
Facebook: www.facebook.com
If you are a member of Facebook, please login and sign on as a supporter on my page. You may find my supporter page: Christopher K. Peace by using the search box in the top right-hand corner of the main page after you login. Once on the page, click the "Become a Fan" button in the upper right hand corner.
For General Assembly Session Updates please visit the following websites:
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