How much of the Constitution must we ignore in order to defend it?

The post office is required in the Constitution, but 30 years ago Congress essentially privatized it, leaving it to fund itself based on revenues like a for-profit business does. Since then, the USPO has received no taxpayer funding except for payment for free franking privileges for the members of Congress. Then Congress voted to cripple the privitized organization by passing legislation requiring it to fully fund its retirement benefits package for the next 75 years in 10 years, something no for-profit corporation would dream of doing. The only rational reason for doing this is to destroy a Constitutionally required arm of the US Government as a favor to the executives and stockholders of corporations like UPS and FedEx. Not only is it ignoring the Constitution, it’s putting crony capitalism above constitutional law.

We witnessed the Supreme court run roughshod over states rights, inserting itself into Bush v. Gore where the Florida State Constitution clearly required that a full recount be held, and instead of respecting the US electorate as required by the US Constitution, appointing a president strictly along the lines of the party that nominated the Justices.

Then there’s the Congress outsourcing its sole authority to declare war to the executive branch. There are warrantless searches and arrests, suspension of habeas corpus, indefinite detention without trial or charges, extraordinary rendition, torture and even murder of US citizens that all grew out of our not-so-brave leaders’ terror in the face of 9/11. We now know the depth that the NSA and FBI go to in ignoring our Constitutional protections against illegal searches and seizures.

We lost almost 3,000 people on that 9/11 but hardly any in the 12 years since. We lose 3,450 people each month in car accidents and yet we haven’t declared war on automobiles. How many may die if when the next Nixonesque nutcase gets elected president and decides to establish dictatorial control for himself using the police state powers the cowardly Congress set up in their terror that bin Laden might hit them next?

The Supreme court tells us the Framers really meant corporations when they gave rights to people, even though today’s corporate structure did not even exist in 1776. They tell us money is speech. What’s next in the age of Newspeak. Up is down, backwards is forward, and bad is good? We’re already hearing just such Orwellian talk from certain politicians.

How much of the Constitution must we ignore to protect it? What’s left to protect?