Promises

This morning at work I had an short chat with my supervisor. I work at a fruit packaging plant and we were running a new brand of dates that came from Pakistan. We were blending, (mixing together), two different brands, and for two days we needed a total of 30,000 lbs of fruit. Yesterday we only got 12,000 lbs and my supervisor was worried that we would not get our 30,000 lbs. I told him not to worry about it. I have been working there long enough and know all the people on the different crews. I told him we would get his numbers. At the end of the day we got 27,000 lbs of dates, 9000 more than he needed. He was surprised and a bit impressed. I am not telling this story to brag, I am telling it because of what I told him next. I told him that I do not make promises I do not intend to keep. I told him barring a natural disaster or emergency, if I make a promise you can count on me to keep it.
That is the subject of this article, keeping promises. My father used to pound into my head favorite sayings of his. One of them was 'A mans worth can be measured by his ability to keep his promise'. I grew up hating those sayings, but now that I am older I value them. They are an ethical guide by which I try to live. I keep my promises. To me, a promise is almost a sacred oath. I can remember when a promise and a handshake were considered as binding as any written contract. That is how important a mans word was. Call me old fashioned, but I still feel that way.
After I grew up, I spent 13 years service in the U.S. Air Force. I enlisted and then re-enlisted two more times before deciding to separate. When I originally enlisted, and both times I re-enlisted I had to take an oath of enlistment. The oath went as follows,

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the uniform code of military justice. So help me God.

Notice that it says, "I will support and defend the Constitution". I may have complained sometimes about the work and the long deployments, but I always took my duty and my service to my country seriously. It was an honor and a privilege that I took seriously.
Our elected officials also take an oath of office. The oath of office of Senators goes as follows,

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

Both the Senate and the Congressional oaths of office state that they will "support and defend the Constitution of the United States". Sometimes I wonder if they have even read the Constitution? It looks more and more as if they have no regard for what it says their duties are. Daily they violate their oath of office by taking upon themselves powers that are not specifically given to them by the Constitution.
Section 8 of Article 1 states the powers authorized to Congress. Here are some examples, but I suggest you get out a copy of the Constitution and read Article 1 for yourselves.

"To establish a uniform rule of naturalization...".

Naturalization does not include illegal immigration, which is a crime. Yet Congress tolerates it and is trying to grant amnesty for those who enter this country illegally. A clear violation of their oath.

"To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;"

So where does the Federal Reserve Bank fit in? Take a bill out of your wallet and look at it. Where does it say One U.S. dollar? It doesn't, it says Federal Reserve Note. The Fed controls our money, not Congress. Another violation of their oath.

"To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions"

If Congress can call forth the militia why hasn't a militia been called forth to suppress the invasion by illegal immigrants? Another violation of their oaths.

I could go on but I suggest you read Article 1 for yourself. See what powers the Constitution grants to Congress and which ones are not specifically mentioned. You may be surprised to see that many of the powers taken for granted by the Congress should be left to the states as guaranteed by the tenth amendment,

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.

So now you can see that the Congress has overstepped their authority and are making laws, taxing you for things they have no authority to tax you for, and disregarding the safety and security of our borders. Any one of these issues are a violation of their oath of office. They should all be removed from office as quickly as possible and replaced by someone who takes their oath, their sacred promise to support and defend the Constitution seriously. November would a good time to start.