| OCR Text |
Show Volume XXIV Issue XXII The Ogden Valley news Page 13 December 15, 2017 This Year’s Christmas Tree Jubilee By Fisher McQueen, Valley Elementary 6th-grade student reporter The Christmas Tree Jubilee is a fun event that Valley Elementary sixth-graders get to be part of each year. E m i l y Hogg is the design f o r c e behind our trees. She comes and has the sixth-graders make ornaments to go on the trees. Some of the lucky s i x t h graders this year (Fisher LETTER cont. from page 3 Mcqueen, Easton Jones, Stetson Hogge, Sage Stevenson, Isabelle Willie and Eveline Malmborg) and their moms got to help with setting up the tree. There were two trees decorated this year. One of them was a moose tree and the other was a vintage tree. The moose tree had a big moose head on the top (it was a fake moose head). It also had a bunch of moose ornaments and some moose pictures. The vintage tree had an old tricycle and some old records. It also had a bunch of old and cool ornaments that the sixth grades made. Our vintage tree was so special because we put a big “K” on the tree so we could honor Krista Wangsgard—our former teacher who passed away last year. We set up and auctioned off the Christmas trees so that people with needs can get the money that we get from the trees, and other things they auction off, for things to help them. I think it is really important to help others. I think this is a really cool and fun way to help people in need. I enjoyed being a part of this project. Thank you to everyone who helped this year, especially to the talented Emily Hogg. to defeat this amendment. Why? They claimed that the amendment would hamper the President in conducting American Foreign policy. Another abuse of Congress and total disregard for Article I, Section 8 is the so-called Welfare Clause, which is in the Preamble wherein it states, We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice….promote the General Welfare….” This is called the General Welfare Clause which, by a wild stretch, gives Congress the power to provide welfare, which this clause clearly does not give Congress the power to do because Article I, Section 8 restricts expenditures only to those enumerated, and Welfare is not one of them. This task is left to the States if the citizens of that state approve of their tax money being spent this way. Here is what James Madison said about this clause. “With respect to the two words ‘general welfare,’ I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators. If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the general welfare, the government is no longer a limited one possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one subject to particular exceptions.” Then, Thomas Jefferson explained, “Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated.” By the way, please notice it says, “….promote the general welfare….” not provide the general welfare. We are still saddled by many of these unconstitutional, federal government programs, but the main damage was that the precedent was set to introduce unconstitutional programs. Today, almost every item of federal legislation is unconstitutional. Our Constitution has been nearly destroyed and the American people currently don’t seem to think it is important enough to try to save, or howl enough and loudly enough. For sure, they don’t want any of the programs that benefit them curtailed. Our Founding Fathers would not believe what has happened to the document for which they gave their last full measure and fortunes. At one time, there were Presidents who respected the Constitution. Grover Cleveland vetoed hundreds of spending measures during his presidency, stating he could find no Constitutional authority for such appropriations. Franklin Pierce also vetoed many, many bills stating that he could find no constitutional authority saying, “To approve such spending would be contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Constitution and subversive to the whole theory upon which the union of the states if founded.” Every time Congress meets and passes unconstitutional legislation it would be good to remember what President Reagan said, “Well, there you go again.” Or perhaps we should quote Yogi Berra who said, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” Amendment was passed, which took away the suffrage (representation) of the states by having our Senators directly elected by the People instead of having the State legislatures elect Senators to represent the States in Congress. The People have the House of Representatives and the States had the Senate to represent them. Now, all we have is essentially two Houses of Representatives. This 17th Amendment is one of the two prohibitions for amendments. Amendments cannot take away the States’ Suffrage in the Senate. In other words, the States cannot lose their control of the Senators. The 17th Amendment is essentially null and void per Article V of the Constitution. But wait, you say. Didn’t the States ratify the 17th Amendment? Well, yes….sort of. Congress proposed the Amendment but many states, including Utah, did not vote for ratification. Per the Constitution’s directive for Amendments, this type of Amendment would have had to be put forth (recommended) by each individual state and each individual state voting to give up its suffrage in the Senate. Congress basically tricked the states into ratifying the 17th amendment with a lame argument. This argument is too lengthy to discuss here, but anyone can find and read the history of the passage of the 17th Amendment. Likewise, the 16th Amendment and the Federal Reserve Act were acts of subterfuge by men in high places; all happening in 1913. We are told that Treaties, entered into by the United States Senate, is the supreme law of the land. “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States, which shall be made in Pursuance thereof, and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land…” If you read this clause, found in Article VI of the Constitution, you’ll notice that the laws, and treaties, shall be made in PURSUANCE THEREOF…. meaning in pursuance of the Constitution. Therefore, if any law or treaty is not in PURSUANCE of the Constitutional protections or provisions, then that law or treaty is null and void. In 1951, Senator John W. Bricker recognized this and sponsored an amendment to the Constitution that would have gone a long way in protecting this “….in pursuance thereof….” provision. It stated, “A provision or a treaty or other international agreement which conflicts with this Constitution, or which is not made in pursuance thereof, shall not be the supreme law of the land nor be of any force or effect.” One would think that this proposed amendment would have been a no brainer and pass immediately without comment. But, to think this would mean that the leaders of this Nation had our best interests at heart. It passed the Senate, 60-31, but was one vote shy of the necessary 2/3 majority in the House of Representatives. Who were the major players who fought hard to see that it would not pass? President Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Lonnie D. Crockett, Ph.D., Dulles who used their full prestige of their offices Huntsville Mon.– Thurs. 4:00 pm to 9:00pm Fri.-Sat. 11:00am to 10:00pm Open 7 Days Sunday 11:00am to 9:00pm NEW HOURS: Accommodates 50-60 guests Dining room available for parties & family gatherings. Christmas Tree Jubilee By London Owens & Cami Cvitkovitch, Valley Elementary 6th-grade reporters The 2017 Christmas Tree Jubilee was a great success this year! Valley Elementary continues the fun tradition of decorating Christmas trees. Every year students contribute their talents and time to help our friends who benefit from the funds generated from the sales of our trees. The Christmas Jubilee is where people donate trees for other people to buy. With this money, the Weber School District uses it for kids with an emphasis on those who have disabilities. Funds have been used to build new playgrounds, update computers, and build adaptable classrooms. Also with this money, they can help provide vans for transportation for those in wheelchairs. We could not have done all of this without Emily Hogg. She donated her time and effort to help make a beautiful Christmas tree. She also included students from the sixth grade to help out with the ornaments and decorations. She did all this while in the process of opening a new business, EmiJames. We would like to especially thank her and all the parents who also donated their time to help here at school and also in transporting students to decorate the tree at the Eccles E v e n t Center. Sixthgraders m a d e houses and ornaments out of paper and plastic party cups. Mrs. Hogg came up with amazing ways to make cute little ornaments for our trees. There were many beautiful trees that were dedicated to people who have disabilities and have passed on. Our tree called Timeless Vintage was dedicated to Mrs. Wangsgard. Her legacy of loving learning is timeless and lives on forever. Our tree was decorated with love and thoughtfulness as we made items to match Mrs. Wangsgard’s personality. She is sparkly and cheerful. Her personality is bubbly, fun and joyful. She always smiles to everyone and we hope this tree brought a smile to anyone who saw it. We also donated a tree called “Over the River and Through the Woods.” If you were unable to attend, we hope this article can bring a piece of the Jubilee to you and warmest wishes for a bright holiday. 2017 Holiday Coat Drive: Here’s how you can help! Max Carr, WayPoint Academy Student The holidays are a season of giving, and this year’s annual coat drive is a splendid way to give back to the community and help someone in need. There will be two collection cans, one at Slackwater Pizza in Ogden and the other at the Ogden Valley Library in Huntsville. If you have any coats, hats or gloves that you no longer need, you can drop them off at either of these locations. The items will be collected by students from WayPoint Academy and given to various charities. This year’s coat drive should be great, and thanks to your generous contributions, we can help those in need this holiday season. We are so thankful for the community’s optimism and support in this effort; keep it up, and have a happy holiday. |
