Our Magnificent Constitution: Part I

Although quite active in politics prior to 9/11,  I had never thoroughly examined our United States Constitution nor compared it to other documents produced... churned out... or duplicated using aspects of our national treasure. After 9/11, I pulled my oath of office off the wall, verbally took the oath again, and got to work. But to understand our law, I also needed a deep dive into Islamic law and the intellectual battlespace in which the best scholars resided.

One of the best books in my library is "Freedom for the Thought that We Hate:  A Biography of the First Amendment" by Anthony Lewis (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize).   I have read it twice now.  Also gracing my shelves and a tremendous resource is a book which weighs as much as a newborn baby - which seems appropriate. It is "Constitutional Law" by Gerald Gunther and Kathleen M. Sullivan  (Thirteenth Edition in the University Casebook Series).  Nothing compares to the wisdom which was overshadowed by the grace of God infused into this sparsely written but still-breathing document gifted by the Spirit of God.  He was after all, the first to declare that man is free.  (This is why I serve Him.)

One of the worst books ever chewed up and spit out was Gaddafi's "Green Book".   I threw it away because it was so repulsive to my intellectual palate.  The most bi-polar manic depressive documents ever read are The Hamas Covenant and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri's  "Jihad Against Jews and Christians".  If they didn't need to be medicated, I needed medication after examining these documents.

I have read the entirety of Iran's Constitution three times and Pakistan's Constitution two times, including what was meant to be a rough draft of the document which never made the final cut; but it certainly had play in Pakistan's Constitution, as did British Common Law and the Napoleonic code of justice. Other documents, have been examined.

Seasons of my life have been spent on forums run by educated Pakistan's residing in the U.S. One forum no longer exists; but I placed a ribbon on my own chest for allowing a highly educated scholar in Jeddah to come in and thump me on a regular basis.  I remain grateful for what he taught me regarding the terrain of the mind.  Another forum which existed was an active Al Qaeda forum with posts laden with the Qur'an and Ahadith.  I did not join in the fun but remained in observer status.  This group - placed the date and planning for the "Arab Spring" on the site, which began with tumult in Egypt.  I was just there to pop the popcorn and put on my party hat.  American media responded like trained chimpanzees and we ended up with Lara Logan on the ground and injured as she was surrounded by men, sexually assaulted and sustaining injuries.  

Hunafa dot com now shows as a suspicious and blocked site. But it was an interesting reading from the Chechen rebel side of the house before the 'Vlad neutered his opponent by showering him with wealth.  Kavkaz Center is no longer fun, because it has been sanitized, no differently than our public libraries have been completely sanitized because - God forbid! - the general public would not be allowed educate themselves.  The most valuable book on my shelf is one from my local library and in the category of "compensated theft".  Yeah.  I stole it.  I lied, "I can't find it.  I need to pay for it."  With a bit of fake contrition my wallet was stripped of a lot more than the book was worth in a dollar amount.  For the thoughts of the author - I would have coughed up a "Ben Franklin".

All of the above - written in streaming consciousness manner whilst I listen to soft rock - is introduction to the second post.  Let's sit back and reflect a bit about our magnificent U.S. Constitution.