Also on today’s menu:
What Follows When Court Rules Against Liberty
Sununu Vetoes ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Mask Mandate Bill
On this Fourth of July, when the US Supreme Court has reinterpreted the plain meaning of the US Constitution — supposedly as part of its “originalist” approach to understanding what the founders really intended — The Free Press has given us something to think about in a guest column from A.J. Jacobs. The article begins with an introduction to the author:
A.J. Jacobs has become famous for coming up with great ideas and taking them way too far. While researching his best-selling 2007 book, The Year of Living Biblically, he literally followed every single rule in the Bible, growing a huge beard and avoiding clothes made from two kinds of fibers. For Drop Dead Healthy in 2012, he tested every diet and exercise regimen he could find, on a two-year quest to become “the healthiest man alive.” He wrote parts of the book while walking on a treadmill, experimented with “extreme chewing,” completed his first sprint triathlon, and lost more than 20 pounds.
This past May, A.J. published The Year of Living Constitutionally. His latest extreme mission was inspired by Supreme Court rulings in 2022 on women’s rights and gun rights, which ignited a national conversation about how to interpret the Constitution — and A.J. decided to find out what would happen if he interpreted it as literally as possible. He exercised his right, as an American citizen, to bear an eighteenth-century musket in the streets of New York. He quartered soldiers in his apartment, much to his wife’s consternation. And — as he describes in the following piece — he petitioned Congress to become a state-sanctioned pirate, otherwise known as a “privateer,” with permission to detain enemy ships.
Privateers are the unsung heroes of the American Revolution. We probably wouldn’t celebrate the Fourth of July without them. So, while A.J. acknowledges parts of his experiment are absurd, his goal is a serious one: to fully understand, and therefore preserve, the democracy that was founded on this day 248 years ago. It’s a goal we admire at The Free Press. So this holiday, we bring you A.J.—tricorn hat, musket, and all—on the art of living constitutionally.
Discussion: It’s worth a read. As he points out in his column, “John Adams wrote glowingly about the 1775 Massachusetts law that first legalized [privateers], calling it “one of the most important documents in history. The Declaration of Independence is a brimborion in comparison with it.” You read that right: in Adams’ opinion, a law authorizing patriotic piracy is much more important than that trifling tidbit about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
What Follows When Court Rules Against Liberty
Heeding the ruling by the Supreme Court that allows cities to ban people from sleeping and camping in public places, the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen has voted to expand its existing ban on camping in public areas between sunset and sunrise to a complete ban, no matter the circumstance.
Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais and other city officials said that the Supreme Court’s decision paved the way for tougher enforcement of the camping ban. Only Ward 4 Alderman Christine Fajardo opposed the decision.
Now police are able to arrest homeless people, regardless of whether there are no beds available at local shelters. Manchester police have the discretion of fining people as much as $250 for violating the ordinance.
Discussion: People of low income who suddenly lose their jobs or face unexpected medical bills may be unable to pay for their food and rent and find themselves homeless. If they’re lucky enough to have a car, they can sleep there, but otherwise are forced to live outside. Already struggling, they now are denied that option and, on top of that, may be asked to pay a fine that makes life even harder. The corrupt Supreme Court, enjoying free vacations and other bribes from wealthy friends, have no sympathy for those without those benefits, and Manchester’s leadership has shown itself to be just as cruel.
Sununu Vetoes ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Mask Mandate Bill
Governor Chris Sununu vetoed House Bill 1093, which would have prohibited local school districts from enacting mandatory mask policies in schools. In his veto message, Sununu wrote, “[J]ust because we may not like a local decision, does not mean we should remove their authority. One of the State’s foremost responsibilities is to know the limits of its power. This is as true now as it was then.
“As Granite Staters, we take pride in local control and our bottom-up approach to education. Similar to our fight to retain states’ rights against a bloated and ever-encroaching federal government, we have a responsibility to ensure the State minimizes its infringement on local control. Big government is never the solution, and neither is a one-size-fits-all approach.
“The State must remain steadfast in protecting local control as decisions like this are best left to authorities closest to parents and families where they can work with their neighbors to decide what is right for their children.”
Discussion: Sununu got this one right.