The Fourth Branch of Government
is the People

What they didn't tell you in school

In school you were taught that the Government has three branches, the Legislative branch, the Executive branch, and the Judicial branch. The Legislative branch is the Congress and they make the laws. The Executive branch is the President, who runs the daily business of government. The Judicial branch is the Courts who interpret the law and determine of laws are constitutional. These are the three branches of government you were taught in the government-controlled schools. But there is a fourth branch of government, and that's the People.

Some would argue that the People are not a branch of the Government. They would argue that we have a government that is of the People, by the People, and for the People. They would argue that through voting that the Government represents the People and that the Government is the People. In theory, and in an ideal world, this would be true. And for the most part it is true. But there are time when the Government does not represent the People and that the interests of the Government are not the interests of the People. There are times when the People have to assert their will directly and overrule the Government and assert the supremacy of the will of the People over the will of the Government.

The History of Democracy

America was originally a colony of England, which was a monarchy controlled by the King. Although England is still a monarchy technically, the Queen is little more than a tourist attraction and serves merely to feed the tabloid press industry. But 250 years ago the King was very powerful and America was settled by people who were trying to put distance between themselves and the King and his Church of England. America was settled by people who were seeking Liberty and Freedom. We became a People and we resented being subservient to the Government and the King and we dreamed of an America where the People were the King.

On July 4th 1776 the Second Continental Congress, representing the 13 states unanimously issued the Declaration of Independence. This document was the official notice given to the King of England that the 13 states were separating themselves from the Crown in order to form a government of the People. The Declaration of Independence is an important document and in many ways is as important as the Constitution. The Constitution is the document that establishes a government of the People by the People, and for the People. The Declaration of Independence is the document that establishes the supremacy of the People over the Government and establishes the Right and the Duty of the People "to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security."

By what means do the People exercise their authority over the Government? That depends on how resistant the Government is to complying with the Will of the People. In the case of the Declaration of Independence, it meant declaring war on the Government and overthrowing them. This is obviously a last resort after taking other steps less harsh. But clearly the Right and the Duty to overthrow the Government in order to restore the United States as a government to serve the People is clearly established in historical precedent.

The People Exercise their Powers

There are several examples where the People have risen up against the Government in order to reestablish the supremacy of the Will of the People over the interests of the Government. The most memorable event in recent history is the Vietnam War. The Government got us involved in a useless war and got stuck there. It was a war that was clearly wrong, the People didn't support the war, and the Government refused to serve the interests of the People and allowed themselves to be controlled by the interests of those who were profiting from the war. In fairness, there was a national pride factor involved as well. America wasn't ready to admit that we were wrong and to conceal the truth from the People. It was a time when the Government served it's own interests and the interests of people who put their personal profits ahead of the good of the people.

In this case the people rose up against the Government and we fought them. We protested, we rioted, we broke the laws, and we forced the Government to be subservient to the People and to get out of Vietnam. We put the Government back in its place to serve us, and not to rule us. We let the Government know that they can not order us into battle to die against our will to fight a war that served no public purpose.

Powers and Responsibilities of the People

Maintaining the Government is much like maintaining your lawn. Although the plants in your back yard bring you joy for the most part, they have to be weeded and pruned to keep them growing the way you want. We try to make the Government self pruning and self weeding, but the Government isn't perfect and We the People have both the Power and the Responsibility to maintain our government in a manner that best serves the People in the pursuit of Life, Liberty, Freedom, and Happiness.

The first duty of a Citizen is to be personally involved in government. This means that voting is a requirement. And not just voting but going to the trouble to understand the issues and make a well reasoned decision. Getting good people into office is the first step in protecting the Rights of the People. I would go as far to say that failing to vote is a Sin against the Constitution. If I had my way I would make it a law that every voter got a receipt for voting and that you would get $10 off your taxes for every election you have a receipt for.

The Imperative of Judicial Integrity

In the famous Supreme Court case of Elkins Et Al. v. United States, 364 U.S. 206, 80 S. Ct. 1437, 4 L. Ed. 2d 1669 the court in speaking about the imperative of Judicial Integrity stated: "In a government of laws," said Mr. Justice Brandeis, "existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our Government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy."

Although I agree with Justice Brandeis for the most part, I'm not sure the term "invites anarchy" is the most accurate description of what judicial corruption invites. When you look at the People as the fourth branch of government then it is more accurate to say that judicial corruption invokes the responsibility of the People to take whatever steps are necessary in order to bring the Judiciary into compliance with the Law.

Enforcing Judicial Standards on judges is impossible under our current system. Although they have their Rules, they have the ability to break their own Rules and they are not subject to enforcement. How can you take judges to court when judges control the courts? Judges know they can get away with anything and therefore they do. And their dishonesty is contagious and the Government has been the teacher of the People and has affected and undermined the basic integrity of People in Society. People follow by example, and a criminal Judicial System has led to criminal behavior in the People.

These abuses of the Judiciary are so serious as to rise to the level of Treason to the Constitution and to invoke the duty of every citizen to do whatever it take to rid our government from this force that has invaded our Judicial System in order to rid ourselves of this enemy from within and to restore the Rule of Law to our courts which are here to serve the People and not the self interest of the Bar or the Government.

Loving your Country by Burning the Flag

There are those who are greatly offended by Burning the Flag. And they have a right to be offended. However, Burning the Flag can and should be an act of Patriotic Duty. Our soldiers did not fight and die to defend the Flag. They fought and died to preserve our Freedoms, Liberties, and Rights, including our right to Burn the Flag. The Flag is merely a piece of cloth symbolizing the Government. The respect shown the Flag is the same as respecting the Government.

Burning the Flag, and the Right to Burn the Flag are very important to the preservation of our Rights as a People to control the Government. The act of Burning the Flag is an act asserting that the Rights of the People are superior to the Powers of the Government. To be prohibited from Burning the Flag is the Government asserting that the Powers of the Government are superior to the Rights of the People. I agree with the Supreme Court that it is unconstitutional to prohibit Burning the Flag. The very act of Burning the Flag is a message of defiance to the Government and reminding them in the crudest way possible that the People are the Masters and the Government is the Servant.

The People's Duty to throw off Oppressive Government

The people are the ultimate protector of our constitutional rights. We are the branch of government of last resort. When the government fails to abide by the Constitution and takes away our rights then it is ultimately the duty of the people to stand up to the government and take our rights back. This is not something that should be taken lightly. It is only in the most extreme of circumstances when all else has failed. However, as the judicial system of the United States continues to deteriorate into despotism, the time has now come to begin to talk about the possibility that there exist no other way to make the courts comply with the Constitution other than the direct intervention of the people.

Like the war in Vietnam, the people might have to rise up against the judiciary and make them comply with their own rules and ethical standards. I hope the judiciary reads this an realizes that the people are not kidding when it comes to insisting that judges and lawyers are not kings and are here solely to serve us and not to rule us. When, for example, the rules of court say that orders of the court and judgements shall be signed by the judge, and the Judges of the Missouri Supreme Court refuse to do so, they are committing treason to the Constitution and need to be removed from office.

The Declaration of Independence states:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

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Evolution vs. Creationism - Reality vs. Mythology.

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