Radio Address by President Bush to the Nation

President George W. Bush delivers his weekly radio address to the nation from Camp David, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2001. White House photo by Eric Draper.  

April 29,2006

Press Release

WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of the radio address by President Bush to the nation:
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Last weekend, the people of Iraq formed a national unity government. This is an important milestone on the road to democracy in Iraq, and it marks the beginning of a new chapter in America's involvement. Last Sunday, I talked to the President, Prime Minister- designate, and Speaker of the new government. And this week, I sent Secretary of State Rice and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to Baghdad to meet face-to- face with the new Iraqi leadership. We've all been impressed by the Iraqi leaders' commitment to maintain the unity of their country and effectively represent the Iraqi people.

The new Iraqi government will face many challenges. Iraqi leaders agree that the new government must continue to build up the Iraqi Security Forces to defeat the terrorists and must establish control over militias. They also agree that the new government must rebuild critical infrastructure, strengthen the Iraqi economy, and ensure that all Iraqis benefit as their nation grows in security and prosperity.

During their meetings in Baghdad, Secretaries Rice and Rumsfeld made clear that Iraq will have the continued support of America and our coalition partners, as we begin the new chapter in our relationship. We will help the new Iraqi government assume growing responsibility for the nation's security. And as Iraqis continue to make progress toward a democracy that can govern itself, defend itself, and sustain itself, more of our troops can come home with the honor they have earned.

The terrorists clearly recognize the threat that the new unity government poses to their dark plans for Iraq and the broader Middle East. This week the terrorist Zarqawi, leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, released a video in which he denounced the new government and promised further acts of terrorist violence. Zarqawi lashed out at what he called "this rotten play of democracy" and declared that Iraq's new government will become "a poisoned dagger" in the heart of his plans for the Muslim world.

On Wednesday, Iraq's leaders united to strongly condemn Zarqawi's statements. One Iraqi official declared that the terrorists and insurgents, quote, "are feeling this might be the last chance they have to survive. They're fighting everyone in Iraq -- every Iraqi. I think that shows how weak they are." End quote. A newly appointed first Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi parliament said that Zarqawi fears the new government will unify Shiites and Sunnis and Kurds. He said, quote, "I believe that Zarqawi was caught off guard by the new government taking shape because it will be a very strong one representing all Iraqis." End quote.

The new leaders of Iraq are showing great courage in the face of terrorist threats. In recent weeks, terrorists have assassinated three siblings of top Iraqi politicians -- but the new leaders of Iraq remain determined to lead their nation toward a future of democracy and peace. These brave leaders deserve our continued support -- and I have told them they can count on America to stand with them.

The enemy is resorting to desperate acts of violence because they know the establishment of democracy in Iraq will be a double defeat for them. First, it will deny the terrorists their immediate aim of turning Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban -- a safe haven where they can plot and plan more attacks against free nations. Second, in the long term, a democratic Iraq will be a major blow to the terrorists' hateful ideology because it will send a powerful message across the region that the future of the Middle East belongs to freedom.

There will be more tough fighting ahead in Iraq and more days of sacrifice and struggle. Yet the enemies of freedom have suffered a real blow in recent days, and we have taken great strides on the march to victory. Iraq's leaders now have laid the foundations for a democratic government of, by, and for the Iraqi people. By helping the Iraqi people build their democracy, America will deal the terrorists a crippling blow and establish a beacon of liberty in the Middle East -- and that will make our Nation and the world more secure.

Thank you for listening.

END

Source: White House Press Office

Link:

Bush Warns of More Tough Fighting in Iraq


Hizbollah sees Bush as top terrorist


Lebanese Hizbollah students burn a U.S. flag during an anti U.S. sit-in held in the southern port-city of Sidon February 23, 2006. Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group said President Bush should be named the world's top terrorist, responding to a U.S. official report that did not remove the group from a list of terrorist organizations. (Ali Hashisho/Reuters)  

April 30,2006

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group said President Bush should be named the world's top terrorist, responding to a U.S. official report that did not remove the group from a list of terrorist organizations.

The State Department's 2005 Country Reports on Terrorism, released on Friday, also kept Syria and Iran, Hizbollah's main backers, on its list of state sponsors of terrorism. The report said Iran provided Hizbollah with extensive funding and weapons.

"The person who deserves to be on top of the terrorists' list is the President Bush and his aides who filled the world with prisons," Hizbollah said in a statement.

"Hizbollah considers being on the U.S. terrorism list as a medal for its fighters and a confirmation that its stance and policies against the Zionist aggression and American hegemony are correct," said the statement, received late on Saturday.

Hizbollah, whose attacks were vital in ending Israel's 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000, has been under international pressure to relinquish its weapons after a 2004 U.N. Security Council resolution demand it disarm.

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said on Sunday: "Hizbollah is an honorable liberation movement that has ... the biggest role and credit in liberating Lebanese lands occupied by Israel in 1978."

Salah al-Din

Salah al-Din  

A Muslims Perspective

Salah Al-Din, known as Saladin in Western texts was of Kurdish descent. He was the first Ayyubid sultan and at the age of 14 served under the Syrian ruler Nur ud-Din. Salah Al-Din became a notable opponent to the Crusaders in many battles. One excursion was the conquering of the land of the Nile in 1164 which was miscredited to Salah Al-Din. While he was left with the Egyptian lands in his control, he did not play a notable role in the conquering of those lands against the Crusaders.

In 1169, Salah Al-Din served as second in command to his uncle Shirkuh and became vizier of Egypt. Salah Al-Din revitalized the economy of Egypt, and reorganized the military forces in which he started military campaigns against the Crusaders. Salah Al-Din was able to suppress the rulers of Egypt, the Fatimids in 1171 and unite Egypt under the Abbasid Caliphate.

He was still serving under Nur ud-Din, when Nur ud-Din died in 1174. Salah Al-Din then began to expand his stronghold into neighboring areas. He was able to unite Egypt and Syria under his command and then moved west in an attempt to regain that area. Salah Al-Din marched to lake Tiberias in 1187 and set up a plan to reconquer the area. Around 12,000 Frankish troops began to make their way towards Salah Al-Din. However, Salah Al-Din set up a series of ambushes that would slow the Crusaders down and prevent them from reaching the Lake where they could slake their thirst. In this way, Salah Al-Din was able to crush the Crusaders. Soon after, he took Acre and sent his lieutenants into Palestine to reduce the Franj in that area. The most memorable conquests of Salah Al-Din was the recapturing of Jerusalem held by the Crusaders.

The Crusaders were not done yet and a massive amount of Franj began to gather and head towards Acre. This would become one of the most grueling battles between the Muslims and the Franj. Acre was a city that had a port on one side and thus it was easy for the Franj to lay seige. The Muslims and the Crusaders fought for many months but neither side was giving way. In 1191, Richard the Lionheart, arrived and it became obvious that his intention was to succumb Acre. Salah Al-Din gave up any hope of help and surrendered. One of the longest and gruesomest battles was over, yet while Salah Al-Din had previously released any prisoners he held, King Richard had 3000 inhabitants of Acre killed. Salah Al-Din was able to reach a peace agreement with the Lionheart for five years. In early March in 1193, Salah Al-Din became seriously ill and soon died in his bed surrounded by his family. A great leader of Islam and mis-represented in the Western world was layed to rest, yet his legacy lives on in the Arab world today and in the Islamic community as well.



The Empire of Sultan Salah Al-Din 


REFERENCES:

Maalouf, Amin. The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. Translated by Jon Rothschild, 1984. Al Saqi Books, 26 Wetbourne Grove, London W2.

Salah al-Din


Common History


Salah al-Din 

Saladin or Salah al-Din (1137 or 1138–1193; Kurdish: Selahedîn Ayûbî; Arabic: صلاح الدين يوسف بن ايوب; al-Malik al-Nāir alā al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb - Ayyoub; Salah al-Din being an honorific that means The Righteousness of the Faith in Arabic) was a 12th century Kurdish Muslim warrior from Kurdistan, in present day northern Iraq, who founded the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Mecca Hejaz and Diyar Bakr. He was also renowned in both the Christian and Muslim worlds for his leadership and military prowess tempered by his chivalry and merciful nature, during his struggle against the Crusaders.

Rise to power

Saladin was born into a Kurdish family in Tikrit and was sent to Damascus to finish his education. His father, Najm ad-Din Ayyub, was governor of Baalbek. For ten years Saladin lived in Damascus, at the court of Nur ad-Din (Nureddin).

After an initial military education under the command of his uncle, Nur ad-Din's lieutenant Shirkuh, who was representing Nur ad-Din on campaigns against a faction of the Fatimid caliphate of Egypt in the 1160s, Saladin eventually succeeded the defeated faction and his uncle as vizier in 1169. There, he inherited a difficult role defending Egypt against the incursions of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, under Amalric I. His position was tenuous at first; no one expected him to last long in Egypt where there had been many changes of government in previous years due to a long line of child caliphs fought over by competing viziers. As the leader of a foreign army from Syria, he also had no control over the Shi'ite Egyptian army, which was led in the name of the now otherwise powerless caliph Al-Adid.

When the caliph died, in September 1171, Saladin had the imams pronounce the name of Al-Mustadi, the Abbassid caliph in Baghdad, at Friday prayers, and the weight of authority simply deposed the old line. Now Saladin ruled Egypt, but officially as the representative of Nur ad-Din, who himself conventionally recognized the Abbassid caliph.

Saladin revitalised the economy of Egypt, reorganised the military forces and, following the advice of his father, he stayed away from any conflicts with Nur ad-Din, his formal lord, after he had become the real ruler over Egypt. He waited until Nur ad-Din's death before starting serious military actions: at first against smaller Muslim states, then directing them against the Crusaders.

With Nur ad-Din's death (1174), he assumed the title of sultan in Egypt. There he declared independence from the Seljuks, and he proved to be the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and restored Sunnism in Egypt. He extended his territory westwards in the maghreb, and when his uncle was sent up the Nile to pacify some resistance of the former Fatimid supporters, he continued on down the Red Sea to conquer Yemen.

Fighting the Crusaders

On two occasions, in 1171 and 1173, Saladin retreated from an invasion of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. These had been launched by Nur ad-Din, and Saladin hoped that the Crusader kingdom would remain intact, as a buffer state between Egypt and Syria, until Saladin could gain control of Syria as well. Nur ad-Din and Saladin were headed towards open war on these counts when Nur ad-Din died in 1174. Nur ad-Din's heir as-Salih Ismail al-Malik was a mere boy, in the hands of court eunuchs, and died in 1181.

Immediately after Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin marched on Damascus, and was welcomed into the city. He reinforced his legitimacy there in the time-honored way, by marrying Nur ad-Din's widow. Aleppo and Mosul, on the other hand, the two other largest cities that Nur ad-Din had ruled, were never taken, but Saladin managed to impose his influence and authority on them in 1176 and 1186 respectively. While he was occupied in besieging Aleppo, on May 22, 1176 the "Hashshashins" attempted to murder him.

While Saladin was consolidating his power in Syria, he generally left the Crusader kingdom alone, although he was usually victorious whenever he did meet the Crusaders in battle. One exception was the Battle of Montgisard on November 25, 1177. He was defeated by the combined forces of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, Raynald of Chatillon and the Knights Templar. Only one tenth of his army made it back to Egypt.

There was peace between Saladin and the Crusader States in 1178. He was actually recovering from his defeat and rebuilding his army. Saladin renewed his attacks in 1179, defeating the Crusaders at the Battle of Jacob's Ford within the same year. However, the Crusaders repeatedly provoked him. Raynald of Chatillon, in particular, harassed Muslim trading and pilgrimage routes with a fleet on the Red Sea, a water route that Saladin needed to keep open. Worse, and what made him a legendary monster in the Muslim world, Raynald threatened to attack the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In retaliation, Saladin besieged Kerak, Raynald's fortress in Oultrejordain, in 1183 and 1184. Then Raynald looted a caravan of pilgrims on the Hajj in 1185.

In July of 1187, Saladin invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem. On July 4, 1187 he faced at the Battle of Hattin the combined forces Guy of Lusignan, King consort of Jerusalem, and Raymond III of Tripoli. The exhausted and thirst-crazed Crusader army was largely annihilated in what was a major disaster for the Crusaders and a turning point in the history of the Crusades. Saladin captured Raynald de Chatillon and was personally responsible for his decapitation. Guy of Lusignan was also captured but his life was spared.

Soon Saladin had taken back almost every Crusader city. He recaptured Jerusalem on October 2, 1187, after 88 years of Crusader rule (see Siege of Jerusalem). Only Tyre held out: Saladin had allowed the remnants of the Christian armies and people to escape there, and the city was now commanded by the formidable Conrad of Montferrat. He strengthened Tyre's defences and withstood two sieges by Saladin. In 1188, Saladin released Guy of Lusignan and returned him to his wife Queen regnant Sibylla of Jerusalem. Both rulers were allowed to seek refuge at Tyre, but were turned away by Conrad, who did not recognise Guy as King. Guy then set about besieging Acre (see Siege of Acre).

Hattin and the fall of Jerusalem prompted the Third Crusade, financed in England by a special "Saladin tithe". This Crusade took back Acre, and Saladin's army met King Richard I of England at the Battle of Arsuf on September 7, 1191. Saladin's relationship with Richard was one of chivalrous mutual respect as well as military rivalry; both were celebrated in the courtly romances that developed in Northern Europe. When Richard was wounded, Saladin even offered the services of his personal physician, a signal favour, for Muslim medical practice was the best in the Western world. At Arsuf, when Richard lost his horse, Saladin sent him two replacements. They even considered making peace by marrying Richard's sister Joan to Saladin's brother Al-Adil, with Jerusalem to be their dowry, although these negotiations fell through due to religious concerns on both sides.

The two came to an agreement over Jerusalem in the treaty of Ramla in 1192, whereby it would remain in Muslim hands but would be open to Christian pilgrimages; the treaty reduced the Latin Kingdom to a strip along the coast from Tyre to Jaffa.

Not long after Richard's departure, Saladin died March 4, 1193 at Damascus. When they opened Saladin's treasury they found there was not enough money to pay for his funeral; he had given his money away to those in need. His tomb, located in the Umayyad mosque, is now a major tourist attraction. His tomb is one of the most visited in the world.

Recognition

Despite his fierce opposition to the Christian powers, Saladin achieved a great reputation in Europe as a chivalrous knight, so much so that there existed by the 14th century an epic poem about his exploits, and Dante included him among the virtuous pagan souls in Limbo. The noble Saladin appears in a sympathetic light in Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman (1825). Despite the Crusaders' slaughter of Muslim men, women, and children when they conquered Jerusalem before his birth in 1099, Saladin granted amnesty and free passage to all common Catholics (the Greek Orthodox Christians were treated better, because they opposed the crusades) and even to the defeated Christian army.

Despite the differences in beliefs, Saladin was respected by Christian lords, Richard especially. They became almost friends, in a strange sort of way. Richard once praised Saladin as a great prince, saying that he was without doubt the greatest and most powerful leader in the Islamic world. Saladin in his turn stated that he would rather lose Jerusalem to Richard than to anyone else. After the treaty, Saladin and Richard sent each other many gifts as tokens of respect. However, these two military leaders never met face to face.

The name Salah ad Din means "Righteousness of the Faith", and through the ages Saladin has been an inspiration for Muslims in many respects. Modern Muslim rulers have sought to capitalize on the reputation of Saladin. A governorate centered around Tikrit in modern Iraq, Salah ad Din, is named after Saladin.

Few structures associated with Saladin survive within modern cities. Saladin first fortified the Citadel of Cairo (1176 - 1183), which had been a domed pleasure pavilion with a fine view in more peaceful times. In Syria even the smallest cities centered on a defensible citadel, and Saladin introduced this essential feature to Egypt.

Among the forts he built was Qalaat Al-Gindi, a mountaintop fortress and caravanserai in the Sinai. The fortress overlooks a large wadi which was the convergence of several caravan routes that linked Egypt and the Middle East. Inside the structure are a number of large vaulted rooms hewn out of rock, including the remains of shops and a water cistern. A notable archaeological site, it was investigated in 1909 by a French team under Jules Barthoux.

Burial site

Saladin is buried in a mausoleum in the garden outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany donated a new sarcophagus in marble to the mausoleum. Saladin was however not placed in it. Instead the mausoleum now has two sarcophagi: one empty in marble and one in wood containing the body of Saladin.


Kingdom of Heaven


Kingdom of Heaven DVD Cover 

An Analysis

by Housewife4Palestine

The Kingdom of Heaven is an epic movie that came out in 2005 in American theatres. Many said that it was a box office bomb because in my opinion it showed during the crusades the retaking of Jerusalem by Salah al-Din because of the treachery and under handness of some of the Christian Crusaders. These where men who choose to follow the blood trail. Then their were Christians who wished peace and harmony among others not unlike them selves; otherwise equality of all men. This is a true Christian ethic.

One thing I did find offensive was the showing of the immorality of the Christians, for example between Balian (Orlando Bloom) with Sibylla (Eva Green), who was married to Guy De Lusignan (Marton Csokas). Or the fact that Balian was actually the illegitimate son of Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson). Godfrey even confessed to Balian when he first confronted him that he was his father and not married to his mother, but he had not forced her to have relations with him but loved her in his way. This kind of immorality may have been expectable at this time in the Christian world, but wouldn’t have been in the Islamic world of the East.

This movie did go on to show in my opinion an idea of the kind of man Salah al-Din could have been like, not just a great leader to his men but an honorable Muslim towards mankind as a whole after Jerusalem was retaken from the Crusaders. He showed that he did not wish the wonton killing of these Christians, but that they gave him no other choice; for they where invaders in a country not their own and committing atrocities that had to be stopped.

In my opinion, it attempted to show the difference between many Christians and Muslims at a time of great turmoil like what is happening again in these times.


May Allah make right the wrongs that are happening again!

Israel: Rockets Smuggled Into Gaza

A Palestinian militant from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, holds a rocket launcher as he attends a rally in Gaza City Wednesday April 26, 2006. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that he was ready to lead peace negotiations with Israel, and that the election of a Hamas government was no obstacle. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)  

By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer

Yahoo News

April 28, 2006

TEL AVIV, Israel - Palestinian militants have smuggled several Katyusha rockets into the Gaza Strip, potentially threatening towns well inside Israel, a senior Israeli military official said Friday.

The official, speaking in halting English, initially said several dozen Katyushas have reached Gaza, but later said that he had meant to say "a few."

The official said Israel is prepared to re-enter Gaza in response to the threat of the rockets, which have a longer range and are more powerful than the homemade rockets usually fired by Palestinian militants, but it has no plans to do so in the immediate future. He spoke on condition of anonymity under military guidelines.

Israel withdrew from Gaza last summer, ending a 38-year military occupation.

Since then, militants have managed to smuggle the Katyushas through tunnels along the southern border with Egypt, the official said, adding that some parts have entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. The crossing is controlled by Palestinian security forces along with European monitors.

The official said some of the rockets were made by Iran, but gave few other details on their origins.

Islamic Jihad militants, who have close ties with Iran, recently fired a Katyusha into southern Israel for the first time. The rocket caused no damage.

The official said Israel wants to avoid a ground operation in Gaza but will conduct one if the Palestinians increase their capabilities in a "significant way." He cited the Katyushas as a possible reason for military action.

European Union nations this month cut off direct aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government, reflecting their position that Hamas is a terrorist group.

French President Jacques Chirac called Friday for the creation of a World Bank fund to pay salaries of Palestinian officials whose wages have been stopped by the international aid freeze.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he favored the idea but noted that Chirac has to discuss it with other governments. The World Bank office in Jerusalem said it had not received any request to create such a fund.

___

Associated Press writer Christine Ollivier in Paris contributed to this report.


The Katyusha Rocket Threat


Israelis in Katyusha Range 

Katyusha rockets are from time to time launched into towns in northern Israel by the Hizbullah Islamic fundamentalist group stationed in southern Lebanon. Residents are forced to sleep in bomb shelters, sometimes for days on end, in fear of the attacks.

It is rarely realized, however, the potential danger such rockets could pose to Israel's main population centers should they fall into the wrong hands.


Katyupic Lauched 

The Katyusha Rocket "Multiple Rocket Launcher" BM-21 pictured here could be easily taken apart and smuggled into a "demilitarized" Palestinian state. Individual Katyushas can be launched from a pipe using just a car battery.

The rockets on this truck have a range of 12.7 miles / 20.4 km. Katyushas can easily carry chemical warheads. One full salvo of rockets from this truck would fire the explosive equivalent to four Iraqi-type Scud missiles, which were launched into Israel during the 1991 Gulf War. No apartment in Tel Aviv would be safe, as the map below demonstrates.

The speckled region to the left is the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, which houses some 70% of Israel's Jewish population and 80% of the country's industrial base. The West Bank is a mountainous region overlooking the Mediterranean coastal plain and Gaza is a seaside district with its own port. If Israel relinquishes military control over these regions, it will be impossible to prevent the smuggling of weapons such as the Katyusha. The potential implications are clear.

(Information and map courtesy of Mark Langfan)

Long Live Palestine!

Palestinian Peace 

Vital Thread

Just One Wee Mouse 


Author Unknown

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my Prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig....

The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

Therefore, the next time you hear someone facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we ALL are at risk. We are involved in this journey called life. We must keep a lookout for one another and make an extra effort to encourage & assist one another.


EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE INTERWOVEN FOR A REASON.

The War Against Islam

Unity march : A young Muslim boy takes part in a demonstration in London where Muslims expressed their firm opposition to draconian anti-terror legislation, the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and the extraditions of Muslims to the USA. (AFP/Alessandro Abbonizio)  


To begin with the words “Holy War and infidel,” is not words coined from the Islamic world. They came during the last crusades, said by the Crusader Christians against anyone who was not Christian.

Also, it is against Islam, to engage in any kind of attack (War) against anyone unless a Muslim first were attacked, otherwise if your family, home, country is attacked then you must resist.

It should be understood anyone from the Islamic regions did not start this "War on Terror," if you check past events from about 1975 you will see a sample of what I am referring to and what has led to our current Global Crisis. If you do not care to go back that far, remember when Israel/America invaded Lebanon in 1982.



An Iraqi Prisoner 

Against the War: A Western Coalition too!

by Dalia Yusuf

October, 31, 2001

Thousands of demonstrators crowded the streets carrying signs objecting to the current U.S. attacks on Afghanistan. They clashed with the police as they expressed their disenchantment with American foreign policy which, in their view, caused the September 11th attacks. They condemned the harassments witnessed by Muslims and Arabs in Western countries, called for bringing an end to the U.S. inflicted sanctions on Iraq, adopting a ‘fairer’ stand in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Gulf. Those demonstrators did not come out of Al Azhar, Baghdad or Gaza. They were American citizens who were clear about their position regarding what happened. They turned the question of who did it? To why did they do it?

It appears confusing, especially when we discover that the vast majority of the American population continues to support the military option, albeit they wish to identify the people who did it, and urge the American government to reconsider its foreign policy in the Middle East.

On the other hand, with the continuous flood of news on Arabs and Muslims being subjected to physical harassment (CAIR reported over 600 cases of assault on people with different backgrounds, with three killings: a Copt, a Sikh, and a Pakistani Muslim), it becomes even more confusing when one tries to establish a perspective; to allow for more interaction to undo misconception, or to revert to a state of isolation to avoid further clashes.

This complex scenario continues to raise more eyebrows. The triggered anti-war demonstrations that go even further into anti-political and economic globalization make us wonder whether they were simple haphazard evens that highlighted the need for the American people to become more exposed to world affairs, or the result of more deeply embedded ideas in the nature and basis of a capitalistic system of political and economic governance. A more viable possibility is the latter. These movements have their own reasons for those demonstrations but they act as a significant basis of support for issues concerning Arabs and Muslims alike. Similar to those was also the number of people who rallied for the Palestinian cause in Durban. Perhaps seeking a coherent analysis and explanation for those movements could help in understanding the American society and the complexities of the New World Order. This in itself is a plus for people in our part of the world (Arab and Islamic) who merely happen be geographically located in a region subject to crossing interests and coalitions.

Seen on Television: ‘We Wish to Inform You’

Feelings of grief and sorrow have given way to more positive steps towards action. Various forms of protests were shown on television across American and European cities. In Los Angeles, for example, hundreds of demonstrators gathered to denounce the war rhetoric and condemn American foreign policy, seen as the main reason behind the September 11th attacks. In Canada and in Germany demonstrators held signs saying “Enough Victims, No to Revenge.” In Britain, 5000 people gathered near the Prime Minister office carrying signs saying “Shoulder to Shoulder for Peace and Justice.”

“Why” Instead of “Who”

Those that questioned the war and those that demonstrated against it, have been pushing the question into a different direction, focusing on the root of the problem as a way to solve it, rather than finding out who was involved and issuing punishment, with or without evidence. Fred Goldstein mentioned in his report on the International Action Center (IAC) website “Bush, Capitalism, and the War Crisis” that George W. Bush’s address, saying that he is declaring war on those that attack the American way of life. He points to the simple fact that there is no one way of living in America. There are different races, different ethnic backgrounds, and people with different social and economic status. Each affects your main concerns and thus directs their ‘way of life.’ Further, the peoples of the Middle East share a growing rage at the United States, Europe, and the NATO alliance. Their countries have been under the control of superpowers for more than a century. They realize those countries’ role in the killing of thousands of Palestinians and more than 1 million Iraqis. They also realize that Washington stood behind Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982 which resulted in the death of 17, 500 Lebanese citizens in Beirut alone. Goldstein goes further back in history and points to the death of 125, 000 Egyptian workers during the digging of the Suez Canal in the nineteenth century, which again was under the auspices of the French government. In conclusion, Goldstein points out that the Arab peoples did not necessarily rejoice in the September 11th attacks, but they will nevertheless face a new wave of military intervention, clearly motivated by economic and strategic interests in the region.

One Basket, One Logic

It is interesting to find that Goldstein’s above expressed views as well as the views of other anti-globalization and environmental movements, are all part of one whole. With a look at the Gulf war, for example, we find that economic interests in Oil led to a strategic interest and placed many U.S. military bases across the region while, on the other hand, Oil is not only a vital source of life for the everyday life of the industrialized world, it is also the fuel for a sophisticated system of military command.

What Should We Do?

War in the sense that the American president has mentioned may be a war against anyone, in any place around the world. Brian Becker, the assistant manager of the IAC, has shown that the answer to global terrorism should be to withdraw most American forces from the Middle East and the Gulf region, to end the sanctions on Iraq which led to the death of 1.2 million people, and to withdraw support from Israel. The question becomes when and to what extent will those anti-war and anti-globalization movements translate demonstrations and signs into systematic plans of action? More important yet, to what extent are we, as Muslims, going to continue to sit back and watch, completely ignorant to the rules of the game, and hardly contributing to world events?

Getting the Masses to Talk

Much effort is needed to lift the veil off the truth and make it known to the world. Many scholars and journalists would agree that war today is a war of information. Reality can take many different meanings if presented in a twisted manner. The September 11th events were full of ambiguities that stressed the need for mutual understanding. People’s fear of the ‘unknown’ enemy, and the march to a war against that enemy raises eyebrows and pushes towards further inquiry, for if the masses truly understood, they would redirect the foreign policies of their states. The recent attacks showed the ability of the individual to turn the capital of the world into chaos. Why can we not explore the potential of the individual to change the world in a more positive and comprehensible direction?


Dead Palestinian Youth 

Understanding Jihad

For anyone who is not Muslim, it would take a little time to understand all the forms of Jihad. But I will attempt to give you The Readers Digest version so you will have some understanding.

Greater Jihad

This has many parts, the main idea is a struggle to better ones self. Otherwise, to be the best person we know how to be. To follow all the dictates of Allah (God), so that we can follow what we call "The Straight Path to truly see Paradise (Heaven)."

The word commonly used today is Mujahid (Arabic: striver, struggler), not a word normally associated with a warrior against another human in battle (War). He might engage in fighting to "Support God's religion, establishment of Islamic rule, and restoration of the Islamic Caliphate, "God willing" or for example, struggle to memorize the Qur'an.

Lesser Jihad

Physical Jihad: This relates to the use of physical force in defense of Muslims against oppression and transgression by the enemies of Allah, Islam and Muslims. Allah commands that Muslims lead peaceful lives and not transgress against anyone. If they are persecuted and oppressed, the Qur'an recommends that they migrate to a more peaceful and tolerant land: "Lo! Those who believe, and those who emigrate (to escape persecution) and strive (Jahadu) in the way of Allah, these have hope of Allah's mercy..." (2:218). If relocation is not possible, then Allah also requires Muslims to defend themselves against oppression by "fighting against those who fight against us." 2 The Qur'an states: "To those against whom war is made, permission is given [to defend themselves], because they are wronged - and verily, Allah is Most Powerful to give them victory." (22:39)

It needs to be brought to attention that this lesser Jihad that you get Martyrs, who would rather die in truth then live in sorrow. For a war such as this is a war in the extermination not only of the religion of Islam, but people who are spread all over the globe and we are not talking a handful of people. And in turn, those who attack any Islamic area will be attacked in return, for example by groups like Al-Qaida.

Link:

ICSSA

It should be noted that in Islam we are not allowed to commit any acts of terrorism or war on our own against anyone! Otherwise, we can not swing the first punch. We have to be hit first.


Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest!) 

The Tenth Crusade

Make Your Choice? 

Tenth Crusade is a rhetorical device that builds an analogy between the U.S.-led "War on Terrorism" and the historical Crusades.

Crusade

The word crusade was used by US President George W. Bush first on the day September 11, 2001 attacks, quoted below, and on the of the national day of mourning the death of the nearly 3,000 victims of those attacks. He spoke of "this crusade, this war on terrorism." The use of this figure of speech was criticized in Europe, and Arabic speaking countries. Supporters of the President's usage of crusade argue that from context Bush had used the word crusade in a military, non-religious sense, such as The Great Crusade which was the phrase used by General Eisenhower to describe the D-Day invasion of Europe to the Allied troops in his order of the day broadcast.

Tenth Crusade

In the September 7, 2002 issue of Counterpunch, columnist Alexander Cockburn authored an opinion column titled "The Tenth Crusade" in which he numbered the conflict to follow nine medieval Crusades by his count. In a Newsday article issued December 4, 2003, political commentator James Pinkerton cited two intermediate wars also called "Tenth Crusade." Pinkerton's renumbering of the conflict as the "Twelfth Crusade" has been overshadowed by references to the title of the Cockburn column. Cockburn is thus usually credited with coining the term, which is almost exclusively used by critics of the US operations.

Critics of this term eschew its use and claim the analogy is misleading.


Quotations


Bush's War on Terror 


US President George W. Bush, from a press conference upon arrival at the South Lawn of the White House, September 16, 2001.

"We need to go back to work tomorrow and we will. But we need to be alert to the fact that these evil-doers still exist. We haven't seen this kind of barbarism in a long period of time. No one could have conceivably imagined suicide bombers burrowing into our society and then emerging all in the same day to fly their aircraft — fly U.S. aircraft into buildings full of innocent people — and show no remorse. This is a new kind of — a new kind of evil. And we understand. And the American people are beginning to understand. This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while. And the American people must be patient. I'm going to be patient. But I can assure the American people I am determined, I'm not going to be distracted, I will keep my focus to make sure that not only are these brought to justice, but anybody who's been associated will be brought to justice. Those who harbor terrorists will be brought to justice. It is time for us to win the first war of the 21st century decisively, so that our children and our grandchildren can live peacefully into the 21st century."

Alexander Cockburn, "The Tenth Crusade," Counterpunch, September 7, 2002.

"Islamic fanatics flew those planes a year ago and here we are with a terrifying alliance of Judaeo-Christian fanatics, conjoined in their dreams of the recovery of the Holy Lands of the West Bank, Judaea and Samaria. War on Terror? It's back to the late thirteenth century, picking up where Prince Edward left off with his ninth crusade after St Louis had died in Tunis with the word Jerusalem on his lips."

James Pinkerton, "Century In, Century Out - It's Crusade Time," Newsday, December 4, 2003.

"And now, in 2003, the Americans, the Twelfth Crusaders. The West is no longer 'Christendom,' but we, as first cousins to the Europeans, retain the old faith and bring new kinds of idealism, such as democracy and human rights. But the Crusader spirit is still there; it's still about bringing civilization and salvation of a backward people. As the born-again George W. Bush says, 'This is about good vs. evil.'"


The Tenth Crusade

by Dennis O'Brien

The United States and Great Britain are currently engaged in the Tenth Crusade, an effort to assert control over the Middle East. This crusade began in 1983, when Ronald Reagan sent troops into Lebanon to prop up a Western-leaning government after Israel had invaded the country. Up till then the United States had not been the target of car bombings and the like. But within months the Marine barracks in Beirut were bombed, killing hundreds, and the United States has since been lumped in with earlier Crusaders as an aggressor deserving of counterattack.

What is the source of such a conflict? Although some see it as a struggle for control of oil, that is only the latest wrinkle of a conflict deeply seated in the psyches of all concerned. It is the spiritual aspects, not the economic, that hold the key.

Four great religions trace their origins, both physical and spiritual, to Jerusalem: Judaism, Western Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Islam. It is where the one God revealed himself to Abraham, the patriarch of all these faiths; where Solomon and Herod built the temples that held the Ark of the Covenant between that God and their people; where Jesus suffered and died for the sins of mankind and rose triumphant from the dead; where the prophet Mohammed conversed with Allah and ascended into heaven; and where now stands the Islamic Dome of the Rock, built on the very ruins of the earlier temples. Even now, certain Christian groups in this country are urging Congress to support Israel because "God is not yet done with the Jewish people," echoing a near-apocalyptic desire to found the New Jerusalem after the final conflict.

These religions have formed the basis of civilizations that now encompass most of the world. They have each in their time sought to expand through physical force rather than moral persuasion. The current world crisis is the latest chapter of that conflict, with the potential of being the deadliest. Yet even if they are not bound by the moral imperative that any conflict should be resolved without violence, they should at least accept the historical lessons that tolerance and polycentrism are ultimately in their self-interest. The time has come for all parties in the conflict to acknowledge their own and each other's interests and to share the one city that cannot be divided: Jerusalem.

As described by Arnold Toynbee in his multi-volume opus A Study of History, there are five civilizations that currently encompass most of the world's population:

1. The Far Eastern, or Sinic, society, which formed its first nation-state in the third century B.C., with Buddhism as its spiritual basis. It includes China, Japan, and most of southeast Asia.

2. Western Christendom, which grew out of the Roman Empire, and extends from central Europe around the globe through the Americas and on to Australia.

3. Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which evolved from a split in both the Roman Empire and the Christian church, and extends from southeastern Europe eastward through Russia to the Pacific.

4. The Indic society, centered in the sub-continent of India, which formed its first nation-state in the fourth century A.D. with Hinduism as its spiritual basis.

5. The Islamic society, extending from northwest Africa through the Middle East to Indonesia, which began in the eighth century A.D.

These civilizations have survived the bi-polar world of communism versus capitalism. They are even more complex than George Orwell's tripartite world of Eurasia, Eastasia, and Oceania as envisioned in 1984. Yet for the most part they follow the pattern described in 1984's pivotal chapter, "War is Peace": they are constantly maneuvering in an effort to extend their control over the fringes of the others' spheres of influence.

It was probably easy for Orwell to lump together India and the Far East. But his great mistake was under-estimating the resilience of the Islamic society and its ability to maintain the cultural identity of a broad swath of humanity that refused to be absorbed by the dominant societies around it. Adapting to the dynamic tensions remaining between these societies is now the greatest problem facing the world.

There are, of course, other civilizations/societies in the current world, but they have not coalesced into the universal state and unifying spiritual force that mark those above. Certainly the culture of sub-Saharan Africa is of immense importance to the development of humanity. It is no co-incidence the most reasonable leader during this crisis, Kofi Annan of the United Nations, was nurtured by that culture. And there are other smaller, fractured, arrested, and fossilized cultures that make up the rich fabric of the human psyche. Indeed, one of these, Judaism, although the basis of only one small nation-state, is nonetheless at the geo-political center of a dispute that threatens the rest.

The resolution of this crisis thus requires not only that the Islamic world share Jerusalem with Israel, but that the Western world share Jerusalem with Islam. We cannot pretend to be uninvolved with that decision. It is the box outside the box that must be addressed with courage, compassion, and wisdom.

Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2002
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited

THERE WERE NINE CRUSADES

BUSH'S MAKES THE TENTH

By: Jim Moore

If ever I had a tough article to write, this is it. Because I will try to explain why I believe America has never won a war, and never will, including the war in Iraq.

Oh, we may win this war (Bush thinks we will) but we will have won nothing because the Enemy we fight will never be conquered, at least in our time.

Yes, we have chalked up many victories since the war with England that made us a nation, but they were victories only in the physical sense. Those wars, like all wars, were secular conflicts, blood and guts battles, if you will. But they have little in common with the perennial state of war human beings have been in since Cain slew Abel, up to the day Joe slew Ahmed in Iraq.

Seeing it from a "human" perspective, I confess I had big doubts about this being a "spiritual" war. It's just too manifest, too evident, to capable of resolution.

However, the evidence that mortal conflicts between human beings repeats itself until it all melds together, has convinced me that we have been fighting, and will continue to fight, only ONE WAR throughout the millenniums, with only the methods of killing "upgraded"; from fangs, to bludgeons, to blades, to bombs, to nuclear annihilation.

I believe I could give you a dozen examples in history of what I mean, but two examples, though a thousand years apart, stand out because of their distinctive relevance: the opposing sides battling not just for territory, riches, or possessions, but for something far more important and contentious: their beliefs.

The first example occurred nearly a thousand years ago.

The Crusades from the 11th to the 14th century were nine long and violent wars between the European Christians and the Muslims, from who they were trying to take back the Holy Land.

Jerusalem had been conquered in the 7th century by the Muslims who held it for four hundred years. During that time, Christians were persecuted and the Holy Sepulcher was despoiled. Byzantine Emperor Alexius appealed to the West for help. And in 1095, the first Crusade began.

We don't have the space, nor is it necessary to describe the many battles that took place between the Crusaders and the Muslims from 1095 to 1271. But several key points must be made here to back my contention that we will have "war without end" as long as human beings are on earth.

THE LOCATION.

The Crusades' starting place of conflict was along the east Mediterranean coast; the same geographic area that has been a source of human tragedy from the time of Christ. However, what began as a war to save the Holy Land apparently got out of hand, and the Crusaders marched and battled across Europe as far north as Scandinavia.

THE CHURCH.

Since it was Christians who went on the Crusades to recover the Holy Land, the papacy had a interest in instigating and supporting the Holy Wars. These included Pope Urban II, Pope Gregory VIII, Pope Innocent III, and others. With church heavyweights urging war against Muslims, the conflict between spiritual and material gain became increasingly intense.

THE ALMIGHTY.

Convinced that God was "on their side" the Crusaders had few qualms about extending their war against Muslims wherever it took them. Thus, once the Holy Land was free of non-Christians, the inclination was to follow through, to fight, and defeat them, wherever they may be. And they did.

So we have (l) a key location from which to wage war, (2) sanction of the church to conduct war, and (3) belief that God is on our side, therefore we cannot fail.

A powerful combination.

Sound familiar?

It should, because the very same war against the Muslims of Islam that occurred a thousand years ago is happening again today.

It is like a Tenth Crusade---led by President George Bush---with all the ugly ingredients of the nine Crusades before it. Let's make the connection.

1. THE LOCATION.

Iraq is ideal for launching the Tenth Crusade. It is a country surrounded by Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, This puts it at a strategic point from which the Bush administration can launch strikes against any of the Muslim and other non-Christian nations. Just as the east Mediterranean coast was the central point of the Crusades against the Muslims in the 12th century.

2 THE CHURCH.

Most Christian churches in America have sanctioned the war in Iraq by their silence, or their lack of dissent, even on religious grounds. In fact, Christians, and especially Fundamentalists, acting from their interpretations of the Bible, have joined the neo-conservatives running America's foreign policy, in waging war against Iraq. That gives Bush's Crusade a church "blessing" to wage a Holy War. Just as the church had sanctioned the Holy War a thousand years ago.

3. THE ALMIGHTY.

George Bush has strongly indicated that in a "conversion" experience, God told him that he had been chosen to lead America in a battle to free the world of tyranny. That this freedom was a Christian virtue which did not include Muslims of Islam and other non-Christians, didn't bother Bush. He was, after all, answering the call to Holy War in whatever nations the fight took him. Just as the Crusaders warred against many non-Christian nations in millenniums past.

I don't know whether this is coincidence or simply history repeating itself, but I am convinced of one thing. Since the Beginning, we have been, and always will be, fighting only ONE war and ONE enemy, albeit at different times, with different weapons, and in different places.

Until God ends it.


"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."


"I'm tired of death and destruction, I just want to go home."
The Last Crusades 


Links:

NucNews - September 7, 2002

From Peace to War: The Formulation of the Idea of Crusade


Welcome to the real War on Terror 

Original Foundation

Of The United States of America


United States Constitution 

Constitution for the United States of America

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article. I.

Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons [Modified by Amendment XIV]. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof [Modified by Amendment XVII], for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies [Modified by Amendment XVII].

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Section. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December [Modified by Amendment XX], unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Section. 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Section. 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; — And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Section. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Section. 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws; and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

Article. II.

Section. 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President [Modified by Amendment XII].

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected [Modified by Amendment XXV].

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: — "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."

Section. 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Section. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Article. III.

Section. 1. The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section. 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority; — to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls; — to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; — to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; — to Controversies between two or more States; — between a State and Citizens of another State [Modified by Amendment XI]; — between Citizens of different States; — between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section. 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

Article. IV.

Section. 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section. 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due [Modified by Amendment XIII].

Section. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Section. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.

Article. V.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate [Possibly abrogated by Amendment XVII].

Article. VI.

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Article. VII.

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, The Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page.

Attest William Jackson
Secretary

done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,

Go. WASHINGTON — Presidt.
and deputy from Virginia

New Hampshire {
JOHN LANGDON
NICHOLAS GILMAN
Massachusetts {
NATHANIEL GORHAM
RUFUS KING
Connecticut {
WM. SAML. JOHNSON
ROGER SHERMAN
New York . . . .
ALEXANDER HAMILTON
New Jersey {
WIL: LIVINGSTON
DAVID BREARLEY.
WM. PATERSON.
JONA: DAYTON
Pennsylvania {
B FRANKLIN
THOMAS MIFFLIN
ROBT MORRIS
GEO. CLYMER
THOS. FITZ SIMONS
JARED INGERSOLL
JAMES WILSON
GOUV MORRIS
Delaware {
GEO: READ
GUNNING BEDFORD jun
JOHN DICKINSON
RICHARD BASSETT
JACO: BROOM
Maryland {
JAMES MCHENRY
DAN OF ST THOS. JENIFER
DANL CARROLL
Virginia {
JOHN BLAIR
JAMES MADISON jr
North Carolina {
WM. BLOUNT
RICHD. DOBBS SPAIGHT
HU WILLIAMSON
South Carolina {
J. RUTLEDGE
CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY
CHARLES PINCKNEY
PIERCE BUTLER
Georgia {
WILLIAM FEW
ABR BALDWIN

In Convention Monday, September 17th, 1787.

Present

The States of

New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, MR. Hamilton from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Resolved,

That the preceeding Constitution be laid before the United States in Congress assembled, and that it is the Opinion of this Convention, that it should afterwards be submitted to a Convention of Delegates, chosen in each State by the People thereof, under the Recommendation of its Legislature, for their Assent and Ratification; and that each Convention assenting to, and ratifying the Same, should give Notice thereof to the United States in Congress assembled. Resolved, That it is the Opinion of this Convention, that as soon as the Conventions of nine States shall have ratified this Constitution, the United States in Congress assembled should fix a Day on which Electors should be appointed by the States which have ratified the same, and a Day on which the Electors should assemble to vote for the President, and the Time and Place for commencing Proceedings under this Constitution. That after such Publication the Electors should be appointed, and the Senators and Representatives elected: That the Electors should meet on the Day fixed for the Election of the President, and should transmit their Votes certified, signed, sealed and directed, as the Constitution requires, to the Secretary of the United States in Congress assembled, that the Senators and Representatives should convene at the Time and Place assigned; that the Senators should appoint a President of the Senate, for the sole purpose of receiving, opening and counting the Votes for President; and, that after he shall be chosen, the Congress, together with the President, should, without Delay, proceed to execute this Constitution.

By the Unanimous Order of the Convention

Go. WASHINGTON — Presidt.
W. JACKSON Secretary.


Bill of Rights of The United States of America 

The Bill of Rights

Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

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.

AMENDMENT XI

Passed by Congress March 4, 1794. Ratified February 7, 1795.

Note: Article III, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 11.

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

AMENDMENT XII

Passed by Congress December 9, 1803. Ratified June 15, 1804.
Note: A portion of Article II, section 1 of the Constitution was superseded by the 12th amendment.

The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; -- the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted; -- The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. [And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. --]* The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

*Superseded by section 3 of the 20th amendment.

AMENDMENT XIII

Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.

Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th amendment.

Section 1.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XIV

Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868.
Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the 14th amendment.

Section 1.
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.

Section 2.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,* and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

*Changed by section 1 of the 26th amendment.

AMENDMENT XV

Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870.

Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude--

Section 2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XVI

Passed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913.

Note: Article I, section 9, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 16.

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

AMENDMENT XVII

Passed by Congress May 13, 1912. Ratified April 8, 1913.

Note: Article I, section 3, of the Constitution was modified by the 17th amendment.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

AMENDMENT XVIII

Passed by Congress December 18, 1917. Ratified January 16, 1919. Repealed by amendment 21.

Section 1.
After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

Section 2.
The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Section 3.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

AMENDMENT XIX

Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 1920.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XX

Passed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933.

Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded by section 3.

Section 1.The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

Section 2.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Section 3.
If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

Section 4.
The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

Section 5.
Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

Section 6.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.


AMENDMENT XXI

Passed by Congress February 20, 1933. Ratified December 5, 1933.

Section 1.
The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2.
The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

AMENDMENT XXII

Passed by Congress March 21, 1947. Ratified February 27, 1951.

Section 1.
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Section 2.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

AMENDMENT XXIII

Passed by Congress June 16, 1960. Ratified March 29, 1961.

Section 1.
The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XXIV

Passed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964.

Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax.

Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XXV

Passed by Congress July 6, 1965. Ratified February 10, 1967.

Note: Article II, section 1, of the Constitution was affected by the 25th amendment.

Section 1.
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Section 2.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Section 3.
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

AMENDMENT XXVI

Passed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified July 1, 1971.

Note: Amendment 14, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 1 of the 26th amendment.

Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XXVII

Originally proposed Sept. 25, 1789. Ratified May 7, 1992.

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.


Note:

It should be noted that both of these documents are stored at The National Archives, in Washington, D. C.. I was told once they are carefully stored under glass and collecting dust. I do not if this is actually true, not seeing them personally.



France Called...They said they’d like their statue back,
since America has no further use for her.
(Statue of Liberty) 

The famous lines associated with Statue of Liberty:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!